Westport Family Resource Centre seeks new premises to cater for extra services

WESTPORT Family and Community Resource Centre are seeking a new premises to cater for its service users, volunteers and staff.

Established in 2004, the centre is seeking to rent or purchase an appropriate facility in the area to allow extra space to deliver 12 different programmes. It has been using a premises on The Fairgreen beside The Mayo News since its foundation.

The centre was established to address the lack of a dedicated community facility for youth, older people and people with disabilities in the Westport area.

One of 121 family resource centres in the country, it is mainly funded by Tusla and employs three full-time staff but is heavily dependent on its 39 volunteers.

In recent times, the centre has rented space locally to deliver various services and events. The building it currently uses is also occupied by Keira Keogh Behavioural Consultant and Kilkelly Engineers.

Megan Burke, Project Coordinator with Westport Family and Community Resource Centre, said the centre had many ‘fun memories’ from two decades on the Fairgreen but had ‘outgrown’ its existing premises.

“Some of the first participants from our youth projects are now grown up and adults, and they have come back to volunteer and help lead projects,” Ms Burke told The Mayo News.

“This enduring kind of connection with the centre just highlights the profound impact that the work is having and the people involved. It just underscores the importance of securing a new space to foster those relationships and those community bonds and keep that work going.”

Range of services

AMONG the services offered at Westport Family and Community Resource Centre are; low-cost counselling for adults and adolescents, play therapy, a school uniform bank and a new over-55s group.

The centre has coordinated the Foodcloud programme, which distributes excess food from the local Tesco to those in need in the community.

Since 2006, it has pioneered the Quay Community Project to develop youth activities in the Quay area of Westport. This has resulted in the ongoing Quay Community Garden and Quay Youth Summer Programme.

“Some of the original pieces of work still remain,” added Ms Burke.

“But we have expanded the breadth of our activities to include, but definitely not limited to, things like health and wellness programmes, parent and caregiver groups, programmes of work in the local secondary schools around mental health, cyber bullying and positive masculinity.

“More recently, in 2023, we added our community support worker to the team and the development of the Ukrainian Community Project to support the integration of Ukrainian refugees into the Westport community,” continued Ms Burke.

“We also welcomed the allocation of the National Integration Fund which will allow us to develop and progress the Westport [Community] Inclusion Project and to work with and support all new communities in Westport and the surrounding areas.”

Judy Casey, PRO of Westport Family and Community Resource Centre, said the centre’s board of management have explored ‘all possibilities’ for a new premises but had been unsuccessful so far.

Big shortage

“There’s a lot of different groups that’s trying to use the community centres because there’s a really big shortage of community space in Westport, so sometimes we’d have to hire rooms in hotels and things like that which of course, then costs money,” Ms Casey told The Mayo News.

Ms Burke said she would welcome any help in acquiring a new premises, which she said would be ‘life-changing’ for the facility.

“It’s time for a fresh start. We’re just looking for support in that a new building, with space to accommodate all of our staff, all of our volunteers, our community members that are dropping in and out to host our programmes and activities and works, would be life changing for us.”

Westport Family and Community Resource Centre can be contacted on 098 24419 or by emailing admin@westportfrc.ie