Advocacy in Action

Our Crosscare Youth Information Service was helping a young person who was a member of the Traveller Community to join a training programme. As it involved travel, they advised them to get a Leap Card for 16-18-year-olds, giving them access to cheaper transport.

They subsequently discovered it was not possible impossible to apply for the young person’s leap card unless they had a Passport, driver’s license, or a Garda National Immigration Card. Of course, securing these documents can be costly.

Julie Kelleher explains how through persistent work and lobbying, they managed to resolve this unfair situation, not just for this young man but all 16-18-year-olds in similar situations.

Small change, big impact.

This issue was an incredibly serious one highlighted by our Homeless Service Teams. People discharged from hospitals to homeless accommodations regularly arrived without information on their recent treatment or what medications they needed to take. In some cases, people entering Homeless Services depended on a high level of treatment for life-threatening conditions.

Paul Dunbar, manager of our Haven House Service, explains how they advocated for critical change and succeeded.

Our Diaspora project was working with Irish people abroad wanting to come home, live, and work here again. However, there was no guarantee that their non-Irish partner, husband or wife would have the right to live and work here, making a life-changing decision extremely difficult and risky.

Richard King outlines how they secured a change in Government Policy for this cohort that had an enormous positive impact on so many.

In this instance, our migrant and refugee team learned of a rule change introduced by the Department of Social Welfare that meant some people were being asked to pay back monies already received, driving them deeper into poverty and, in some cases, at risk of losing their homes. Our team found the rule change had no basis in law and worked to have it reversed. Noel Neenan explains more:

Sadly, we have become used to seeing lines of people queuing at food banks for food parcels in Ireland.  While this can seem a reasonable solution for people who cannot afford a decent meal, our Food Poverty Team have put in place a service where families in need of food get help with more than just food parcels, leading them back to financial stability and where they regain independence and the dignity of shopping for themselves. Joy Walsh outlines how it works.