New website offers helping hand to lone parents
A South Tipperary programme supporting lone parents has set up a website to reach out to more people who may need its help.
The South Tipperary Lone Parents Initiative has detailed all the services it provides to lone parents on its new website, ranging from training courses and its drop-in centres to support groups.
You can also download forms for key social welfare benefits from the website, including the One Parent Family Allowance and Child Benefit as well as the Medical Card and Fuel Allowance, and there are links to useful services like Citizens Information, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and Money Advice and Budgeting Service.
Contact details and opening hours for the STLPI's drop-in centres at the Clonmel Community Resource Centre at Kickham Street, Clonmel and the Community Childcare Initiative Building at Kickham Street, Carrick-on-Suir are also listed on the website.
STLPI's coordinator Liz Moloney said they decided to set up a website because more and more people now use the internet to find information on services.
The website was designed and set up by Joan Hackett, one of STLPI's two FAS Community Employment Scheme workers.
"We have had people from all over the world logging onto the site, which is very interesting," said Ms Moloney.
The website is up and running two months and the Lone Parents Inititiatve is now examining other directions in which to take it.
Details of the STLPI's new computer course for beginnerss, which began this week, are listed on the site. STLPI has also received word from the Department of Social & Family Affairs that it's funding another Strenghtening Families, Strengthening Community Course soon. A start date has not yet been fixed.
Ms Moloney said the impact of the recession on the financial circumstances of lone parents has increased demand for STLPI's services. The HSE funded service's drop-in centres in Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir were visited by more than 400 people in the first eight months of this year.
Despite the increase in clients, the STLPI, like other government funded services, hasn't been immune from funding cutbacks. It suffered a 1% cut in funding this year.
"It's really important that this very valuable service remains," said Ms Moloney.
The STLPI Drop-In Centre at Clonmel Community Resource Centre at Kickham Street is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am to 4pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 3.30pm. It can be contacted at (052) 6127429.
STLPI's Carrick-on-Suir outreach centre at the Community Childcare Initiative Building at Kickham Street is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 2pm. It can be contacted at (051) 642716.
Its website address is: www.stlpi.ie.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Clonmel
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 2 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 6 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
