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Welcome to the March edition of the One Family newsletter. In this month's edition you can find out how to enroll in One Family's tailored adult education programmes, learn what our policy team have been up to, and find out about our counselling services. If you work with families and want to meet us, you are cordially invited to our Open Day on 8 March at our Smithfield office in Dublin.

One Family Open Day

 
Do you work with parents and families? Come along to our open day to learn more about what we do and how we can help.

Adult Education Programmes 


New Steps is a free eight-week, part-time personal development programme specifically designed for women parenting alone or sharing parenting. It is also an introductory course into our New Futures part-time, 24 week programme that is accredited at QQI Level 4. This course is designed for those on the Job Seeker’s Transition Payment (JST) or the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) but do get in touch if you receive other payments (or none) and we will assess your eligibility for the programme.

Join it to:
  • become more confident
  • gain personal development skills and tools
  • get support from, and form new friendships with, parents in the same situation as you
  • learn how to balance work and family life
  • get help and support to pursue further education or training
When? The upcoming New Steps Programme starts on 14th May 2018 and will run until end of June 2018, no classes during school holidays. Classes meet once a week from 10am-1pm on Mondays.
Where? Classes will take place in our new premises at 8 Coke Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7.
 
Pathways is a free eight-week college preparation course for those interested in / or going into Further Education in September 2018. This introductory programme is specifically designed for those parenting alone or sharing parenting.

The Pathways programme provides:
  • practical skills for progression into college;
  • preparation for further education and
  • help with learning how to balance education and family life.
When? The upcoming Pathways Programme starts in May 2018 and will run until June 2018, no classes during school holidays. Classes meet once a week from 10am-1pm on Tuesdays.
Where? Classes will take place in our new premises at 8 Coke Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

New Futures is a free 24 week, part-time personal and career development programme specifically designed for those parenting alone or sharing parenting and is accredited at QQI Level 4.  This course is designed for those on the Job Seeker’s Transition Payment (JST) or the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) but do get in touch if you receive other payments (or none) and we will assess your eligibility for the programme.

Join it to:
  • discover what careers or courses suit you;
  • become more confident;
  • get support from, and form new friendships with, parents in the same situation as you;
  • learn how to balance work and family life;
  • improve your CV and interview Skills; and
  • get help and support to pursue further education or training.
When? The upcoming New Futures Programme starts in September 2018 and will run until May 2019, no classes during school holidays. Classes meet once a week from 10am-1pm on Monday and Tuesdays.
 
As part of all the programmes, the following supports are available:
  • one to one support;
  • information, counselling and parenting support services;
  • contribution towards travel costs (up to €3 per day); and
  • limited onsite childcare available and small subsidies may be available towards childcare costs.
How to apply? Parents interested in participating in either programme in  2018, can contact us directly by emailing programmes@onefamily.ie or call us on 01 6629212. Closing date to apply for the New Futures programme is 15 August 2018.

Where? Classes will take place in our new premises at 8 Coke Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

One Family Counselling Services

 
As a HSE funded and approved provider One Family's Counselling Service offers free post-abortion counselling to women, men and couples who have had an abortion.

As the debate intensives ahead of the forthcoming referendum, those who have experience of abortion may find the current debate challenging and distressing. Everyone's experience of abortion is unique and different, and is personal to them. They may want to avail of the opportunity to talk with someone about their feeling and thoughts about their personal experience. The abortion may have happened recently or some time ago.  If anyone would like to contact One Family to arrange to meet with one of our professional Counsellors, please contact either 01 662 9212  or  by e-mail info@onefamily.ie and we will reply to you as soon as possible.

More information about our Counselling Service is available
here.

“Stop stereotyping lone parents now!" says Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection, Regina Doherty TD


Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection Regina Doherty has called for the stereotyping of lone parents to stop. The Minister spoke during a Dáil debate on the Report on the Position of Lone Parents in Ireland from the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Contributing to the debate was John Curran TD (Fianna Fai), Joan Collins TD (People Before Profit), Brid Smith TD (People Before Profit), Louise O'Reilly TD (Sinn Fein), John Brady TD (Sinn Fein), Kathleen Funchion TD (Sinn Fein) ,as well as Minister Doherty.

All TDs spoke of the difficulties faced by lone parents and noted the strong contribution of advocacy groups such as One Family, SPARK and other NGOs who helped inform the findings of the report. But the closing remarks by Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection (DEASP), Regina Doherty TD were particularly noteworthy:

The Minister said, “I agree with the ladies in the House who made reference to the view that has prevailed for far too long in this country. It does not just come from religious organisations, politicians or the media because the narrative has crept into the psyche of what I would classify as normal people, who have an incredibly wrong view that reflects on society, that we make it too easy for women to be single mothers. People have a disgraceful and shameful view that women choose to be single mothers, as if we go around at 17 or 18 years and target some poor unsuspecting young fellow so that we can get a house or get a buggy. Holy God. There are very few things that make my blood boil but this is one of them. Throughout the history of the State we have had religious orders deal with women when they got pregnant that put them in homes to hide them away. Families acquiesced to that where they should not have. 

I am the mother of four children and I have a husband. He is deadly, and I would not have this job only for the support he gives me. However, by Jove, being a mother with a husband is bloody hard and I cannot even begin to countenance what it must be like to be a mother on one's own and to have all of the financial burdens, emotional burdens and everything else that goes along with rearing a family. Could we all agree – all parties and none – that today it stops – the castigating, stereotyping and stigmatising of the women who are the backbone of this country?"

We couldn't agree more Minister. To read a full transcript of this debate please click here.

Update from the Policy Team


One Family’s policy team have been actively engaging with Government and public representatives on a number of important policy consultations/ submissions: 

In the area of income adequacy - One Family made recommendations to the Low Pay Commission highlighting the following:
  • lone parents are not able to work in extended, cumulative waged work - so every single hour counts in generating a living wage. The Commission needs to ensure that the National Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay (NMHRP) does not mean being ‘at risk’ of poverty. The NMHRP should be set at the Living Wage level of €11.70.
  • the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) should restore the income disregard for OFP and Job Seeker Transition Allowance (JST) recipients to at least €146.50 and continue to unwind the cuts of Budget 2012.
  • target supportive measures for lone parents by enabling JST recipients to receive Family Income Support. Make sure the Working Family Payment is introduced with a weekly working threshold of 15 hours per week.
  • Initiate training for DEASP staff and resource support for the very specific challenges of one-parent families.
 
One Family also engaged with the Law Reform Commission on:
  • the need to establish a Court Welfare and Child Maintenance Service that would help parents negotiating access, custody and child maintenance particularly when domestic violence has occurred.  
  • a review of Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution in relation to family life. One Family reaffirms our long-term objective of changing the definition of the family contained in Article 41 of the Constitution to ensure equality for all children and their parents.
For further information please see the One Family website.
One Family believes in an Ireland where every family is cherished equally, and enjoys the social, financial and legal equality to create their own positive future.
Learn more about One Family.
Our mailing address is:
8 Coke Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7, Ireland.
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