South Tyrone Empowerment Programme
Unit T7, 2 Coalisland Rd,
Dungannon Enterprise Centre
Dungannon, BT71 6JT
Tel:028 8775 0211
Email: info@stepni.org
Community Development » Current Projects
1) Floating Support project
This is a free service funded by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive "Supporting People" programme. The floating support service aims to prevent tenancy breakdown and ultimately homelessness.
Some of the support provided includes:
• Advice on housing rights and responsibilities
• Information on basic home security, maintenance and dealing with emergencies
• Money management and advice - budgeting, paying bills, rent and debt
• Welfare rights advice
• Support with benefits claims
• Support in developing daily living skills
• Information and guidance to employment rights.
Support lasts as long as is required. However, the aim of the service is to help individuals until such time that they develop the confidence and skills to live independently and without support.
Contact our floating support team for further information
2) Bilingual Saturday School project
The main objective of this project is to address the language needs of BME children as well as to promote their right to speak their mother tongue and to be confident and competent in their identity and culture. This project creates the opportunity for bilingual children to develop and maintain their ability to speak in two languages and to cultivate their cultural identity through active participation in both their local and ethnic community life.
It provides language, history and culture lessons and activities for children who live in Southern Health and Social Care Trust Area and whose first languages are Lithuanian, Polish or Portuguese. Children also participate in sport activities and educational trips (at least two trips are organised each year). Language classes are accessible for children aged 6 years and over, who can still speak their own native language but are at the risk of losing fluency and both the ability and opportunity to be able to read and write in their mother tongue. The project complements the homework club which supports fluency in English.
3) The BELONG Programme
The BELONG Programme has been developed by the Southern Area Children and Young People’s Committee (SACYPC) Working Group on the Rights and Needs of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Children and Young People. The programme aims to improve outcomes for BME children and young people across the Southern area of Northern Ireland.
The overarching outcome of the Programme is to promote a sense of Belonging. The intention is to realise this through achieving the following more specific outcomes:
•To increase cultural confidence and competence;
•To increase participation in clubs and schools;
•To increase educational achievement of Traveller children;
•To reduce bullying and racial-bullying; and
•To increase resilience.
The Programme and its activities will also:
•Aim to enhance community cohesion and take an integrated approach by working with BME communities and service providers;
•Add value by complementing the ongoing work of organisations that provide services to BME children and young people and developing new activities where gaps in existing services are identified;
•Provide leverage and support to existing provision and to deliver new services (where needed);
•Be innovative by working across all three BME communities (Traveller, Migrant and Chinese/Asian);
•Be underpinned by advocacy activities.
BELONG has offered opportunities to children which they may not have otherwise been able to take part in.
Examples of the activities delivered to date include;
Taking a group of children from different nationalities and different ethnic backgrounds to the Chinese New Year Festival
Held a workshop on the Bill of Rights to highlight to the Children their understanding of rights and what this means for them. This workshop was broadcast by Beyond The Skin.
Offered a group of young Travellers the opportunity to be involved with a 8 week programme in which they will produce a Visual Arts Project
The first BELONG multi-cultural festival will be held on June 26th and will involve 40 children from different cultural backgrounds giving them the opportunity to come together and sample different workshops.
Contact Israel on paul@stepni.org or telephone 028 877 22154 www.belongni.org
4) Debtadvice NI
This project is a free debt advice service delivered by STEP, managed by AdviceNI and funded by DETI. Appointments can be made with qualified debt advisors in the STEP office in Cookstown, the advice and service is free-of-charge and available to anyone in the Dungannon/Cookstown area.
For more information, please click here