The Community Facilitation Service

The Community Facilitation Service is an integral part of the Social Work Department at Western Care Association.  The service which is exclusive to the Castlebar area came into operation in 2001.  It was identified that a number of people with intellectual disabilities were living & working independently in the community.  Some people found themselves in vulnerable situations where they required support but had no where to turn.  As a result of this need the Community Facilitation service was developed.

Community Facilitation offers;

• A confidential person centered service.
• It aims to provide support to adults with intellectual disabilities living independently in the community and also to support individuals who are moving towards independent living.
• It provides supports to individuals who work in the community together with supporting individuals who are seeking employment.
• It is a positive, original, innovative and individualised service which strives to meet the needs of each person.
• It enables people to address key areas of their lives, e.g., loneliness, isolation, poverty, relationships, sexuality, personal safety, rights, social inclusion, housing and health.
• Inclusion and new opportunities are an essential aspect of the service and are continually explored in new and exciting ways with people.
• A number of workshops are delivered to meet the needs of people and include group work on self esteem, recognising stress, assertiveness, health & well being, relationships & sexuality.
• It offers a women's and men's group where people can explore and talk about areas specific to men or women without feeling embarrassed especially around health and sexuality

The Community Facilitation service has worked closely with Mayo County Council and Castlebar Town Council in obtaining secure, affordable quality accommodation for people.  This has culminated in the development of the first integrated housing project in County Mayo which has been very successful.  Working in partnership with these two bodies affords the community facilitation service the opportunity to put forward the housing needs of people availing of the service particularly if a person requires wheelchair accessible accommodation.  This insures that people’s individual needs are met.

The Drop In

The Drop-in, as the name suggests, is a place for people to "drop in" and have a chat with the Community Facilitators. People can share their good news and also seek support with anything that may be worrying them.  A wide variety of concerns are addressed, basically anything that the person identifies as a worry or an area to work on for themselves.

There are a number of activities organised by service users with the support of staff where necessary.  Some of the activities are based at the Drop-in but people are encouraged to use their community wherever possible.

Activities can range from art, relaxation, music, cookery, bowling, concerts, drama and all these can be seen at a glance on the social events calendar.  The service users are responsible for the social events calendar which is prepared three months in advance.  They decide the activity, the date and organise any bookings that may need to be done.   This helps build people's self esteem and also offers the opportunity to acquire new skills around planning and organisation.  Shopping trips, weekends away, city breaks and sun holidays are all part and parcel of the drop-in activities with people having ventured to a variety of far off destinations.