News

On the 4- 6th March team members Ciara and Tara, along with community activist Gavin travelled to Wijhe, the Netherlands for to take part in a meet up for the ATD European Youth Dynamic.   The purpose of this trip was a preparatory weekend for a larger youth meet up in July which will hopefully lead to young people from this dynamic having their voices heard at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 2023.  The weekend in Wijhe included countries from Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. We stayed on the peaceful ATD farm Zwervel, which is ran by…

ATD Ireland are finalising our new film project on socio- economic discrimination. This film aims to outline the experience of socio - economic discrimination from the perspective of those who have experienced it. It has a particular focus on socio - economic discrimination as experienced by young people from four disadvantaged communities in Dublin: Ballymun, Ballyfermot, Darndale and the North Inner City, in addition to highlighting the experience of those growing up in care. The purpose of this project is to give a new perspective to these areas and their people who are often given a bad name, stigmatised and discriminated…

At ATD Ireland, we have an open office day every Tuesday 11 – 4 pm.  The Tuesday open house is a time for diverse members of our community to come together, take part in activities, share stories and build friendship.  The Tuesdays are the base for a regular, informal supportive community space.  The aim is for it to support those who are struggle to build their daily confidence and build trust with others.  It is also a time to welcome new people.  Our members, including people experiencing poverty and others, take part in and lead skill sharing workshops.   It is…

This week the ATD Ireland team supported by the Presentation Sisters and the Christian Brothers presented a series of Understanding the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty workshops in collaboration with the Margaret Alyward Centre. See here to read about a workshop we carried out with 30 students from St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary School.   We completed these ‘dignity in dialogue’ workshops with an online zoom session on the evening of Thursday 18th February.  Attended by friends and members of ATD UK and Ireland, the Presentation Sisters and the Christian Brothers and the Margaret Aylward Centre, along with members of the general public, this…

"What I’ve learned from the workshop is that a lack of empathy is the most important thing that can happen to someone, and a lack of empathy is what people in power often have" - Student Workshop Participant This week the ATD Ireland team supported by the Presentation Sisters and the Christian Brothers presented a series of Understanding the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty workshops in collaboration with the Margaret Alyward Centre. These 'Dignity in Dialogue' workshops were designed to raise poverty awareness and offer participants an opportunity to learn first-hand about the various causes and hidden dimensions of persistent poverty. Input from people with…

Dignity for all in practice: Overcoming poverty based discrimination  On 11 February, ATD Ireland, including community activists Andrew and Gavin participated in a UN zoom event 'Dignity for all in practice: Overcoming poverty- based discrimination.  This was a side event to the United Nations Commission for Social Development 2022.  This event was attended by ATD Ireland, Professor Diane Roman, Professor Oliver De Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights), Mr Gouba Ousseini (Permanent mission of Chile to the UN), and moderated by Professor Sandra Liebenberg.You can read a summary report of this workshop hereRead Andrew's full speech below:Presentation…

Two young people have recently completed internships with ATD Ireland and spoke about their experiences and the knowledge they have gained.  Initially, being drawn to ATD arose from a passion for human rights and equality and a desire to have more enriching experiences with people from diverse backgrounds.  “Attracted by diversity and fascinated by multiculturalism, I applied for an internship with ATD Fourth World”. Courage and generosity of activists An internship with ATD exposes the courage of community activists and those in poverty in sharing the intimate details of their stories and life experiences in the hopes that their honesty might…

Please consider donating to support our work alongside families and individuals struggling with poverty.  ATD Ireland continue to work to support people whose lives are the toughest.  The Covid- 19 pandemic pushed many individuals and families further into poverty and isolation. “Families already struggling from hardship, poverty and socio-economic discrimination are dropping further and further behind and getting forgotten completely”.  – Community activist. Family support, family visits and gatherings have been a way to combat this marginalization. The aim of this is to keep connected with the wider ATD community and to provide support to families or individuals in times of…

Family Support An integral part of the work done at ATD Ireland are the family visits, cultural outings and family support. Visits to family homes, hostels and disadvantaged areas take place weekly for a catch up and a chance to discuss some personal issues and offer support if needs be. We do this to make sure our community knows that we are still around even if they have not, for whatever reason, been able to make it into the office.  It is important that we keep up communication with everyone we know. There are multiple aims of support; to offer company,…