Family Centres in the Butts estate in Kilkenny and Newpark Close have joined forces with all the major State agencies and players supporting families in Kilkenny to plan a new programme to help strengthen families.
With the support and encouragement of the HSE childcare manager, Marie Kennedy, professionals from nearly every agency with a family brief in Kilkenny met to undertake two days training to help them run a pilot skills programme that helps families deal with conflict in the home and communicate better with their children and teenagers.
The first 14 week pilot programme will be run by the Fr McGrath and Newpark Close family centres this year with the support of many of the Kilkenny agencies concerned with strengthening a family’s ability to deal with and resolve conflict in their homes.
Twelve families will spend an evening a week at the Fr McGrath Centre where after a family meal all members of the family will take part in the skills programme designed to teach families to communicate better and deal with the issues resulting in conflict.
Even toddlers will take part as centre childcare workers take care of them while other members of their family undertake the skills programme to help them communicate and better resolve conflicts in their homes.
Among the benefits listed are independent research showing that families undertaking the programme greatly reduce the risk of teenage pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse by children, and many have even avoided breaking up as a result. They also claim that this programme is suitable for every family, not just those experiencing problems and every family who took part claimed it strengthened their family’s ability to cope with conflict.
Chairperson of the Fr McGrath Centre, Pat Brennan, thanked Foróige for its support and the training provided for professionals to help run the Strengthening Families Programme as a pilot in Kilkenny city.
“Both the family resource centres in Kilkenny spent many years looking for a programme that could deal with one of the biggest needs we meet on almost a daily basis – parents looking for a practical training programme to help them develop the skills to communicate better with their children and resolve conflict in their homes,” he said.
“Any parent with teenagers or dealing with a difficult child is only too aware of the stresses it can bring to the family home when rows between siblings and parents can sometimes seem to be endless and irresolvable.”
The Strengthening Families Programme comes highly recommended from professional agencies across the world who claim remarkable success for families who undertake the programme and develop the skills to deal with conflict in their household in a much more positive manner.
Among the agencies attending the training were staff from Foróige, Ossory Youth, HSE social workers and public health nurses, Kilkenny Drugs Task Force, Family Support Network members, Dept Education Welfare Office, Garda Diversion Units - supported by all four family resource centres in Kilkenny, Callan, and Urlingford.
Interested families or professional support agencies can contact Wendy at the Fr McGrath Centre or Sheila at Newpark Close for further information on the programme, or any member of the HSE childcare team.
