Our services Tiglin Pathways to Employment Started: 2018 Capacity: 34 Community Employment positions Services [Source: DSP] The Community Employment (CE) programme is designed to help people who are long-term unemployed (or otherwise disadvantaged) to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. Participants can take up other part-time work during their placement. After the placement, participants are encouraged to look for permanent jobs elsewhere, based on the experience and new skills they have gained while on a Community Employment scheme. The Community Employment programme is administered by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). The DSP gives financial support in the form of allowances and funding to assist with the Community Employment programme, for example participant wages, supervisor grants, materials grants and specific skills training grants. Community Employment sponsors are the voluntary organisations or public bodies that manage CE schemes at a local level. Tiglin operates three branches of Community Employment schemes and trough those employs over thirty part time employees. These positions have been sponsored by the Department of Social Protection (DSP): Ashford, Co. Wicklow: Located in Ashford and spearheaded by the supervisor Kevin, this scheme provides an invaluable experience and knowledge to our students that are in dire need of an opportunity that will elevate their CV quality and increase their chances of employment. In Ashford the scheme focuses on work experiences, life skills, woodwork, project working and other activities that aim to add value to the person. Contact details: [email protected] Greystones, Co Wicklow: Our "Beautiful Carraig Eden" is a host of our second Community Employment (CE) Scheme, after the success from our first CE scheme our DSP sponsors noticed the quality the work and the amount of positive progressions- especially towards employment, education and accommodation we have been granted more positions and the supervisors to run them. Contact details: [email protected] Dublin: Our third scheme started as part of a mobile bus on Dublin's O'Connell street. The No Buck's Bus has been a constant presence on Dublin's main street for a decade. The operation was moved from the street in a physical premises in Pearse street. Our CE participants work as part of an existing soup kitchen. What makes this scheme unique is that it serve as a final stage of Tiglin's continuum of care where our participants are given a specific job role and serves as a tremendous training opportunity for the social services sector (In-house training program). Many of our participants do move into full time employment as a result of working with us especially when their time with us is coupled with educational opportunities. Contact details: [email protected] Naas, Co Kildare: (new project) Get involved: For referrals contact our supervisors and we will be happy to get the process started and give the opportunity to access the: training opportunities work experiences education counselling In house trainings Various other supports External Employee Partnerships Tiglin loves seeing our participants move into a successful career, all of our guys make great employees who are very eager to learn. If you have an employment opportunity you are welcome to contact us as we always have someone that is ready to tackle new challenges with vigour and enthusiasm. If you are an employer and wish to give an opportunity to a young person in need of opportunity you can contact: jay.bobinac@tiglin.ie / +353 851735418 Employment: Education: and many more. Testimonials: I started the Community Employment Program with Tiglin in 2018. At that time I was in a very peculiar place in my life. I was 20 years old and I didn't necessarily have a career path. Being part of Tiglin was absolutely transformational. The training I received from the program was essential, I have learned a lot about how to be a part of a dynamic workplace, I was shown how to co-exist and work with my colleague. This gave me a sense of believing and a safe place to learn and make mistakes. Trough Tiglin and their employment I was able to get educated both practically and academically. Currently I am studying a Masters program and I work in the social care industry. Part time work hours and the assistance as well as the access to Tiglin's resources allowed me to progress. I would not be where I am without that opportunity. Allen (Former Community Employment participant) I started the Tiglin CE programme in February 2021 and can testify that I have been assisted professionally with my personal career goals. Education is key to growth and this is part of the CE outreach at Tiglin. I am currently doing an online degree and some of my courses have been funded by the CE sponsorship programme. This gave me not only financial assistance but also the motivation and will to continue. It was done for me efficiently and swiftly. I am grateful to the CE education programme at Tiglin. It also provides me with a purpose and income by giving me a job on the CE staff. Good training in communication and discipline have given me security and a sense of self worth. I have been encouraged to start up an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for anyone interested in addiction recovery. I have also done online courses on suicide prevention and conflict resolution. The options to further oneself and build self esteem are available on this Tiglin CE education programme if a willingness to further education and wellbeing is shown. Life’s dreams become possible and mine have been realised through the Tiglin CE program, in this case at the Lighthouse outreach facility in Dublin. Jeffrey (Community Employment participant) I am writing this short message to express my experience while working at The Light House Dublin. I was there from December 2020 to May 2021 as an intern. The five months that I spent there was so fruitful and beneficial to me, not only for the college purpose but also for my personal life. The staff and volunteers are so supportive and helpful. On the first day, I felt welcomed and belonging because of how the staff received me. What I like about The Light House is their empathy and passionate attitude towards everyone who comes in for help. Whether you are a homeless person or not. Working at The Light House taught me how to be patient and appreciate life. I also learn from The Light House that when you think of homeless individuals and families who come every day to receive food bags, you will do your best to work hard to support them even if nobody else wants to work. It is teamwork, but if other people do not want to do the job and your heart goes after the homeless people out there, you have to do it no matter how hard it takes. They have an outstanding and professional management team there at The Light House. They were able to provide me with the information that I needed for my placement. It is an organisation that I will still want to go back to volunteer, even one day a week in the future. I will not hesitate to recommend anyone looking for a place to volunteer or for a college internship because the atmosphere there is cordial, conducive and friendly. Pauline (Former Intern) Being part of the Community Employment allowed me to continue to learn to grow from completing the Tiglin program. The Employment scheme itself gave me a positive work attitude but also an attitude change in myself. Community Employment came with great opportunities to work alongside people going through the same sort of stuff I did. But, in the end, you can't change the past. Still, you can learn from it, and that's what I did. I helped so many others get to where I am now; the CE program comes with loads of benefits, including training, support, life skills and lessons. Accountability is one of the critical factors in the CE program as to how can you help others if you can't help yourself- Self-care is knowing the difference. Part of my job role was to work in a coffee shop as part of a Barista training- that training has allowed me to gain a full-time employment role in a cafe in the city centre. Kieran (Former Community Employment participant) I am reflecting on my Community Employment experience.My experience in Community Employment (CE) was a massive benefit since stepping away from Tiglin. Moving into the phase 4 house, the benefits of living by the sea gave me a new sense of freedom. I have a new outlook on life. The CE program allowed me to reflect on my next step in life, looking at my skills and strengths. Putting my recovery into action, working through some complex emotions at the time, identifying how I was feeling and being ok with sitting with myself. With the supports of counselling, key working and week planners. Achievable setting goals and lowering my expectations. I have had great laughs with the lads on the CE and am very thankful to the CE staff for the wisdom and the challenges helping me face my fears, surrender the outcome, and trust God. I have since progressed to a New CE scheme working in a low threshold service with homeless people supports them with treatment options and housing options, creating pathways for the most vulnerable people in our society. I have progressed to supported staff, intensive engagement work, taken urine analysis from clients, supporting clients with reducing the use program, implementing drug Diaries. It is an honour to be part of the someone recovery journey, seeing them minimise drug use and go into treatment.CE after tiglin has genuinely benefited me. I would encourage anyone to do it; it's worth it. Paul (Community Employment participant) I was asked to come on to the Community Employment scheme while I was in Tiglin about five months into my program, around December 2019. I didn’t know too much about the scheme. The supervisor told me that it helped to pay for any training or courses I wanted to do. At the start, I wasn’t sure about what direction I wanted to go; I was focusing on getting well. I didn’t consider going back to education when I first came to Tiglin. Then, I got offered a springboard course, Certificate in Purchasing Strategy, Quality Management and Lean Six Sigma (QQI level 6), run in Tiglin by IT Carlow. The tutors that came up to the centre were beneficial, and they helped run the course around the rehabilitation program that Tiglin ran themselves. I found that I enjoyed learning from the tutor, and even though I struggled at times with the assignments, I found a great sense of achievement when I handed them in. All the lads on the course pulled together and helped each other to get their assignments done. I felt proud of myself when we got to watch the graduation ceremony online. From my experience of doing that course, I decided I wanted to continue my education and go into addiction studies. I came down to Carrig Eden Aftercare Facility in July of 2020. The pandemic had caused a lot of uncertainty around courses being run. My CE supervisor enrolled me on an online ECDL course to help me get better computer skills while I was waiting to get on a course. I interviewed for a system that ended up being pulled due to social distancing concerns. With the help of Tiglin, I got offered a place on a course in An Cosán, Personal and Professional Development (QQI level 6), to help me get skills for higher education. Tiglin also organised an unaccredited 10-week course in addiction studies for a few of us interested in studying it. Around the same, we went to a lockdown, and everything went to a standstill. I decided to go on the day program in Arklow because they were running through zoom. So I swapped over on to the day program CE scheme. The staff I met on the day program were accommodating, and they gave me good direction around my training and education. For example, they offered us a chance to do an introductory course with the William Glasser Institute about Reality Choice Theory. Paula Valentine said that this course would be beneficial for people getting into addiction studies. I enjoyed the course and decided that I would go on to do the next level of it. Two staff members on the day program did it with me, and they helped me through the coursework. The day program also organised a Level 5 in social studies with Chevron Training for us to do through the lockdown. I’m very grateful that I got to do all these courses, especially through the lockdown. We also got to do things like Sailing into Wellness and the Ballycreen Care Farm, which were great experiences. In July of this year, I got the chance to come work for The Lighthouse, a homeless service run by DCM Outreach, as a trainee support worker. I have been allowed to do some training with them, including first aid training. There have also been talks about me getting further training and experience by working with Merchants Quay to help with my CV by gaining more experience in the field. I’ve recently enrolled for BA in Addiction studies and community development, and the CE scheme will help me with some of the funding over the three years of the course. I am very grateful for all the help I’ve received during my time in Community employment, for all the training and experiences I got, and the people I met who helped me on my way. For me, the benefit of being on the community employment scheme was the support I got from all the staff I met along the way and the advice I got from people who have been down this same path. Cormack (Community Employment participant)