Westport Family and Community Resource Centre run a wide range of community development projects and
support services, and provides low cost counselling and a drop-in information service in Westport, Co. Mayo
Opening Hours
*OFFICE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO COVID-19
Staff are working from home and available on phone, email and Facebook.
Tel - 098 24419 / 086 1457293
Email - admin@westportfrc.ie
Facebook - www.facebook.com/westportfrc
support services, and provides low cost counselling and a drop-in information service in Westport, Co. Mayo
Opening Hours
*OFFICE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO COVID-19
Staff are working from home and available on phone, email and Facebook.
Tel - 098 24419 / 086 1457293
Email - admin@westportfrc.ie
Facebook - www.facebook.com/westportfrc
New FoodCloud Project
We have teamed up with FoodCloud and Tesco Westport to redistribute surplus food to families in Westport. It is a wonderful voluntary project which ensures excess food goes to people rather than to waste!
How it works (subject to change):
- Our staff and volunteers collect surplus food from Tesco that would otherwise be going to waste.
- A box of food is dropped, free of charge, to anyone who signs up for the service. Deliveries are currently on a Friday or Saturday night and are contactless (left on your doorstep).
- The type and quantity of food will vary from week to week, but it is all perishable goods such as bread, fruit and veg.
- To sign up or for more information, please contact us on 098 24419 or email admin@westportfrc.ie.
How it works (subject to change):
- Our staff and volunteers collect surplus food from Tesco that would otherwise be going to waste.
- A box of food is dropped, free of charge, to anyone who signs up for the service. Deliveries are currently on a Friday or Saturday night and are contactless (left on your doorstep).
- The type and quantity of food will vary from week to week, but it is all perishable goods such as bread, fruit and veg.
- To sign up or for more information, please contact us on 098 24419 or email admin@westportfrc.ie.
World Refugee Day 2020🎨
June 20th is World Refugee Day
Almost four years ago, Westport welcomed the first Syrian families to our town. In the months leading up to this, images of the war in Syria and of children, men and women trying to cross the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy, flashed across our TV screens. After one photo of a little boy, Alan Kurdi, on a beach in Turkey, the dam broke, and it was almost as one voice we demanded that our Government start to admit people from Syria to our country. Some families even stated they were prepared to throw open their own doors. Has all this faded from our memories?
What do we worry about now? Will we get away for a summer holiday this year, will the pubs be open soon. Do we even think of Syria?
The population of Syria before the war began was 21 million. In the past 10 years 6 million people have had to leave the country and 6 million have been displaced within the country. Imagine the huge humanitarian disaster that has resulted in. The scale of it is enormous. The province of Idlib in the north-west has been ravaged, and a huge humanitarian crisis is ongoing.
When the war broke out on 13th of March 2011 , the protesters against the Assad regime didn't imagine that their demands for democracy and freedom would be the prelude to one of the greatest wars of the 21st century. It is a devastating war in which so many parties are involved, and from the outside Turkey, Russia, Israel, Lebannon, Iran, the United states, Britain are all playing their part in maintaining this war. Now Assad and his opponents are "just pens that are held by foreign fingers, where they write what suits their own goals".
The war has killed 384,000 people with 22,000 of those being children.
Civilians continue to pay the highest price. The war has brought nothing but destruction and chaos for civilians. More than half of the medical facilities are out of service. The war has caused great damage to schools ,homes , infrastructure, hospitals. The low value of the Syrian pound means that people have to pay extremely high prices for food, which leads to poverty and only adds to the mental and psychological distress of people who remain in Syria. Is it any wonder that 6 million people have had to leave their country and flee a living hell.
If we draw a comparison with Ireland, imagine if our conflict on this Island had escalated to the point where 1.5 million people would have to leave the Island and another 1.5 million would have to move to a safe place on the island. Its actually difficult to imagine it without it resulting in a complete breakdown of society on the Island. And yet, that is what has happened in Syria.
In the north west of Syria lies the province of Idlib. Here, a huge humanitarian disaster is ongoing with many people having to flee their homes, villages and towns.
The horror of this can be best described by a family who ended up in Ireland.
"Initially the borders were open and aid was secure, but since 2013 countries have started to close their borders. Neighboring countries have now set strict conditions for those who wanted to cross the border legally and warfare is getting more virulent, with air strikes and toxic gases not distinguishing between civilians and soldiers.
We were escaping from death, but walking into death and waiting for God's mercy.
I and my family suffered so much. I was able to cross the border into Lebanon with my family and my brother's family. Life in the Refugee camps in Lebanon is so miserable that you are thinking about dying just so that you can get some rest. I was very fortunate when the UN chose my family to travel to Ireland , but my brother was not. I was left with a difficult choice. Either I refuse to travel and stay with my brother's family or accept travel and leave them behind and knowing the misery they are living in. He insisted that I go for a better life. I hope he gets a chance .
Ireland has been subjected to the same conditions as us in the past and we are so thankful that Irish society accepts Syrian refugees."
It is our responsibility to not only welcome people to our country, but also to make sure we understand what brought them here, and to try and understand what they have left behind.
Almost four years ago, Westport welcomed the first Syrian families to our town. In the months leading up to this, images of the war in Syria and of children, men and women trying to cross the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy, flashed across our TV screens. After one photo of a little boy, Alan Kurdi, on a beach in Turkey, the dam broke, and it was almost as one voice we demanded that our Government start to admit people from Syria to our country. Some families even stated they were prepared to throw open their own doors. Has all this faded from our memories?
What do we worry about now? Will we get away for a summer holiday this year, will the pubs be open soon. Do we even think of Syria?
The population of Syria before the war began was 21 million. In the past 10 years 6 million people have had to leave the country and 6 million have been displaced within the country. Imagine the huge humanitarian disaster that has resulted in. The scale of it is enormous. The province of Idlib in the north-west has been ravaged, and a huge humanitarian crisis is ongoing.
When the war broke out on 13th of March 2011 , the protesters against the Assad regime didn't imagine that their demands for democracy and freedom would be the prelude to one of the greatest wars of the 21st century. It is a devastating war in which so many parties are involved, and from the outside Turkey, Russia, Israel, Lebannon, Iran, the United states, Britain are all playing their part in maintaining this war. Now Assad and his opponents are "just pens that are held by foreign fingers, where they write what suits their own goals".
The war has killed 384,000 people with 22,000 of those being children.
Civilians continue to pay the highest price. The war has brought nothing but destruction and chaos for civilians. More than half of the medical facilities are out of service. The war has caused great damage to schools ,homes , infrastructure, hospitals. The low value of the Syrian pound means that people have to pay extremely high prices for food, which leads to poverty and only adds to the mental and psychological distress of people who remain in Syria. Is it any wonder that 6 million people have had to leave their country and flee a living hell.
If we draw a comparison with Ireland, imagine if our conflict on this Island had escalated to the point where 1.5 million people would have to leave the Island and another 1.5 million would have to move to a safe place on the island. Its actually difficult to imagine it without it resulting in a complete breakdown of society on the Island. And yet, that is what has happened in Syria.
In the north west of Syria lies the province of Idlib. Here, a huge humanitarian disaster is ongoing with many people having to flee their homes, villages and towns.
The horror of this can be best described by a family who ended up in Ireland.
"Initially the borders were open and aid was secure, but since 2013 countries have started to close their borders. Neighboring countries have now set strict conditions for those who wanted to cross the border legally and warfare is getting more virulent, with air strikes and toxic gases not distinguishing between civilians and soldiers.
We were escaping from death, but walking into death and waiting for God's mercy.
I and my family suffered so much. I was able to cross the border into Lebanon with my family and my brother's family. Life in the Refugee camps in Lebanon is so miserable that you are thinking about dying just so that you can get some rest. I was very fortunate when the UN chose my family to travel to Ireland , but my brother was not. I was left with a difficult choice. Either I refuse to travel and stay with my brother's family or accept travel and leave them behind and knowing the misery they are living in. He insisted that I go for a better life. I hope he gets a chance .
Ireland has been subjected to the same conditions as us in the past and we are so thankful that Irish society accepts Syrian refugees."
It is our responsibility to not only welcome people to our country, but also to make sure we understand what brought them here, and to try and understand what they have left behind.
Supports available during the COVID-19 Crisis
IDAHO Day - International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
This Sunday May 17th is IDAHO Day, which stands for International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The theme for IDAHO Day this year is 'Breaking the Silence'. 🏳️🌈
In our families, in our social circles, at work, in our sports clubs etc., for many people sexualities, gender identities or sex characteristics must be hidden. Some people go through most of their lives with the stigma of feeling ashamed of who they are.
IDAHO Day is not one single campaign. It is a moment when thousands of ideas and initiatives converge over a single vision: freedom and equality for all sexual, gender and bodily minorities. This year on IDAHO Day, tens of thousands will speak up. They will take the space that is rightfully theirs, because their voices, their stories, their lived realities matter!
By all coming together on one global day, the 'noise' will be so loud that all our LGBTQI+++ sisters and brothers all over the world who cannot speak up will hear the sound of hope and solidarity. For more information, please see https://may17.org/2020-theme-elected-breaking-the-silence/
In our families, in our social circles, at work, in our sports clubs etc., for many people sexualities, gender identities or sex characteristics must be hidden. Some people go through most of their lives with the stigma of feeling ashamed of who they are.
IDAHO Day is not one single campaign. It is a moment when thousands of ideas and initiatives converge over a single vision: freedom and equality for all sexual, gender and bodily minorities. This year on IDAHO Day, tens of thousands will speak up. They will take the space that is rightfully theirs, because their voices, their stories, their lived realities matter!
By all coming together on one global day, the 'noise' will be so loud that all our LGBTQI+++ sisters and brothers all over the world who cannot speak up will hear the sound of hope and solidarity. For more information, please see https://may17.org/2020-theme-elected-breaking-the-silence/
Low Cost Counselling Available
Adult counselling service provided by trainee counsellors with the IICP and ICPPD. The cost per session is €10. For more information and to be added to the waiting list please call us on 098-24419 or email westportfrc@gmail.com
The Fairgreen, Westport, Co. Mayo F28 N620 Tel. 098 24419
Email admin@westportfrc.ie Company No. 380806 Charity No. 16804
Email admin@westportfrc.ie Company No. 380806 Charity No. 16804
