Agency bids to extend reach of services to marginalised Cork communities

Cork City Partnership, which has headquarters in Blackpool and spends €4.5m-€5m annually in areas including Churchfield, Gurranabraher, Togher, Blackpool, Knocknaheeny, and Mayfield, now plans to expand

Cork City Partnership provides supports to marginalised communities. Picture: Denis Scannell

An agency which provides supports and services to marginalised communities in Cork city has announced ambitious plans to expand into the extended city areas.

Cork City Partnership (CCP), established in 1992 to support the development of an inclusive and just society, is based in Blackpool. Over the last three decades it has established outreach offices in areas including Churchfield, Gurranabraher, Togher, Blackpool, Knocknaheeny, and Mayfield.

It spends €4.5m-€5m annually in those communities through the provision of education, employment, and community development initiatives, helping to provide people affected by social and economic exclusion with the opportunity to reach their full potential. Its programmes and services are designed around the needs of each community.

CCP chief executive officer Brenda Cahill said the agency now plans to develop within the expanded city boundary, in Ballincollig, Blarney, Tower, and Riverstown.

“For over 30 years, across a variety of programmes and using different funding streams, we have provided a cradle-to-the-grave service, often filling in the gaps where they might exist in existing services,” she said.

“But we were always confined to within the old city boundary. Now the time has come for us to expand all of these services into the communities which have, since the boundary extension, become part of the extended Cork city.”

CCP's Brenda Cahill said the agency now plans to develop in Ballincollig, Blarney, Tower, and Riverstown. Picture: Dan Linehan

Ms Cahill said that over the coming months, CCP will seek to meet local community groups and the various agencies already working in the expanded city areas and seek to build partnerships.

“We will look at what services are already there, what’s missing, what could be provided on a pilot basis, what else could be there, and are there groups that could benefit from funding. Collaboration is a cornerstone of what we do,” she said.

“We will be treading softly in the new areas, making contacts, assessing the need, and working with the grassroots organisations.

“It’s not about us landing into an area and saying ‘this is what we think you want’.

“It’s about us asking ‘what do you want?’ and then avoiding duplication. It could mean funding for a range of different things, like projects in family resource centres or funding for men’s and women’s sheds.

“We can also offer help and guidance to local community groups around the governance and structure.”

CCP offers many services through partnerships with the likes of Cork City Council, the HSE, and Cork ETB.