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To hell and back for a good cause

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Daring volunteers will be going to hell and back as they fundraise to maintain counselling services at East Clare Community Co-op and they are calling on others to get involved in the challenge.
A group of six brave East Clare people will take on Hell and Back Ireland’s toughest 10km challenge, which was specially designed and tested by an ex-member of the Elite Army Ranger Wing.
The group will push their way through a river, struggle through a mud avalanche, wade through a swamp, crawl through barbed wire, scale walls and battle an obstacle course on the grounds of Killruddery Estate, Bray, County Wicklow, in the new year.
The initiative has come about following a threefold increase in the numbers using the counselling service at the Scariff-based East Clare Community Co-op, in the past year. The increase has come at a time when the grant aid supporting the provision of the service has been cut and so to avoid having to implement waiting lists and a scale back of the service, fundraising has become necessary.
“We’ve had a huge uptake in the numbers using the counselling service. They have probably tripled since 2011 and it comes when our grants have received a 12.5% cut from the Family Support Agency, so it is getting to the stage where we are going to have to put people on a waiting list. We have six counsellors and they offer a range of counselling services from mediation to grief counselling.
“We also have supported play therapy for children who are experiencing upset because of grief or separation. This year, we’ve also seen a huge uptake by both older people and men seeking support. Typically, it would have been women of a certain age who would come to us seeking support but we are now seeing more children, teenagers, men and older women seeking support, which is a very positive thing,” Fionuala Collins of East Clare Community Co-op said.
The counselling services are completely confidential but speculating why the increase may have occurred, Ms Collins said it could be as the community enters into year four of a recession and it is facing more life challenges as a result.
“We think we are going to be €5,000 short for the provision of the service and if we don’t raise enough through fundraising, we will run out of funding by April and that’s only if it continues at current levels. We could run out by March or even sooner if the level of referrals continues to rise,” she said.
Although the event is not taking place until February 3, the group, who are a mixture of athletes and non-athletes, will be in training over Christmas and into the new year and they are inviting others to get involved too.
“So far, we have six definitely interested in getting involved and we are trying to get enough to get two teams together so we would need a couple more people. Some of the people involved have never done any 10k event but are taking on the challenge anyway,” Ms Collins added. 
The counselling service has been provided at the East Clare Community Co-op since late 2010 and Ms Collins said it has operated without any huge need to advertise.
“It is something that is really positive for the community and the feedback from those who have received support has been that it has helped them move on with their lives and support them through difficult issues. A huge number of families have been supported by the service and we are very conscious of the fact that if we don’t do something to fundraise, we are setting people up to fail. We’re trying to avoid a waiting list system as it is very important that people get support when they need it,” Ms Collins stressed.
The co-op is appealing to the community to get behind the initiative. Anyone is interested in getting involved is asked to get in touch with the co-op on 061 921536 or visit their Facebook page. Sponsorship cards will be available locally and people can help by sponsoring those participating in the Hell and Back challenge.
In January, Ms Collins said the co-op is planning to restructure services to include a self-help referral system where wraparound supports could be offered.
This would help provide a holistic approach to those seeking support through the service. She explained that through the funds raised through their second-hand bookshop in Scariff, the co-op has been able to provide assistance through the Ciunas Centre in Feakle, which offers other therapies such as massage, aromatherapy and reflexology.
The counselling service will close over the Christmas period at the co-op but it will be reopening on January 7 for new referrals. Anyone who has an emergency or a crisis over the Christmas period is asked to contact their GP or the social services during that time.
People can engage with the service by contacting the community co-op directly or referred through their GP.

 

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