Author: ATD Ireland

On Thursday November 24th ATD Ireland were invited to the Dublin City PPN (Public Participation Network) plenary at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun.The event was attended by various members of Dublin city PPN and it was an opportunity to get to learn about some of the work done by the different community and voluntary organisations around Dublin city. Roger Warburton, from the Rediscovery Centre, welcomed the PPN, and told us about their work, their plans for the future, and about the circular economy.  Mick Keegan spoke about being on the Secretariat, and the Disability Thematic Group.  Gary Kearney, Traffic and Transport…

My time at ATD Ireland was short but impactful. I was curious about working with an NGO, something I didn’t have experience in. I thought that it would inform me what I wanted to do next. I have always cared about human rights issues, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity to engage with them.It started with an interview that turned into a two-hour chat with board members, ATD employees, and community activists. It was such a lovely environment full of warm, thoughtful people. I didn’t want to leave.Once the internship started, I was writing articles based on…

On 23rd November the #Addthe10th alliance, presented the campaign at the Leinster House AV room.  The #Addthe10th alliance are a group NGO’s, community and voluntary organisations working together to have socio- economic status recognised as tenth ground of discrimination in the equality legislation.  Over the last couple of years, the alliance has expanded but currently includes ATD Ireland, EAPN (European Anti-Poverty Network) Ireland, INOU (Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed), AHEAD (Association for Higher Education, Access and Disability), CAN (Community Action Network), ILMI (Independent Living Movement Ireland) and FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres).  In 2019, the alliance came together for the…

On Wednesday the 30th of November, ATD activists Andrew, Gavin, Christina and Jimmy alongside ATD staff headed to Trinity College to present a two hour Poverty Aware Practice module to 15 masters social work students. The purpose of the module is to share lived experiences of the social care system and give students an insight into what good practice in social work looks like. “Poverty is not inevitable, human beings can end it” - Joseph Wresinski As this was a smaller class then usual and held in a seminar room rather than a lecture hall, it allowed for a different, more…

Dear friends of ATD Ireland,Thank you very much for your ongoing support and engagement with our work. It is greatly appreciated. This Christmas, we would like to ask you to please consider donating on a one- time or monthly basis to support our work alongside families and individuals struggling with poverty. ATD Ireland continue to work to support people enduring the worst effects of poverty and socio- economic discrimination. Creative projects such as Lockdown Liberties give people living in poverty an outlet to express their experiences The underlying goals of ATD Ireland are to offer people a platform for their voice…

On Thursday, November 17th, ATD Ireland headed to University College Dublin to teach a two-hour module to social work students. This module is called ‘Poverty Aware Practice’ and aims as always to center those with experience with poverty and social workers. Four community activists joined us: Paul, Gavin, Lorraine, and Andrew.  The purpose of the module is to give students an insight into what good practice in social work looks like.  This module has been designed to be structured to an extent, yet with some flexibility.  It consists of presentation slides which guided the conversation, however, it was not restricting. The…

Nessan is a social justice worker and a friend of ATD. He is involved with other organisations including The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Northside Partnership, and Lourdes Youth and Community Services. He was MC for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty event on October 17th 2022.When asked why the 17th of October is important to him, he says that “it highlights the issue of poverty.” Nessan likes that ATD always “gives prominence to the voice of the people who have experienced poverty or have life experience in poverty” which is especially seen on October 17th. Nessan described…

Gavin is one of ATD Ireland’s community activists. He has done many things for ATD including speaking at Trinity to social work students, writing for the Lockdown Liberties poetry and spoken word project, speaking at UN events and taking part in numerous other projects. He is in the new feature film by ATD Ireland: Through our Lens at Last: The Stories of Socio-Economic Discrimination Untold. Gavin comes from an area of Dublin called Darndale. The town has a negative image in the news and from wider society. He says that “the media and all would always write articles like Darndale did…

On October 15th, community activist Andrew and Mark Hogan, long- term ally with ATD Ireland, headed to New York. Andrew was asked to speak at a UN event that commemorated the 30th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. He has previously given an address to the UN via zoom which is how he was invited. Mark describes the morning saying that “family members and partners of ATD began to gather in the First Avenue House. Over coffee and bagels, old acquaintances were renewed, and new relationships were started. We travelled together by bus to the United Nations,…