Bedford Row Family Project: Holding the Suffering

Abstract

The BRFP staff includes one full-time Project Leader, and four additional fulltime staff comprising a Social Worker, Information Officer/Hospitality Centre Leader, Family Links Social Worker and Traveller Support Worker. Part time staff include an Outreach Worker, an Accounts Administrator, three Family Support Workers, an Office Administrator and a Receptionist/Maintenance person. Additionally students from across five programmes undertake placement with the BRFP. Voluntary and sessional staff included three Psychotherapists, seven Hospitality Centre and Child Care staff and one Play Therapist. The BRFP offers a suite of multi-site, intergenerational integrated services. During 2016 they supported 169 families, 75 male former prisoners, 28 female former prisoners, 29 male prisoners, 51 female prisoners, and 9 individuals. The TED Project is located within the Curriculum Development Unit of Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick. TED seeks to improve outcomes for children through harnessing the expertise of MIC in the service of children, parents and teachers, primarily in DEIS2 contexts,through dialogue and collaboration TED endeavours to unlock children’s enormous learning potential. This research was undertaken by Dr Ann Higgins, Co ordinator of TED and Ruth Bourke, TED Project Support Worker.