Family Support in Londonderry, Northern Ireland

The Methodist church in Londonderry has been engaged with the community for the past 75 years, working with homeless men.

In recent years it has opened a purpose-built hostel that now houses 47 men short term. The hostel aims to provide not only a home for the homeless, but to encourage independent living, and residents are encouraged to participate in a resettlement programme. The hostel is run by the church’s mission department but funded entirely by the city council.

The church has also torn down its old building and built new premises – a community facility, the Clooney Hall Centre. This five-storey building houses the Clooney Hall Methodist Church, and also offers multi-purpose accommodation available for use by statutory and/or voluntary agencies as a resource for community development and social inclusion.

Alongside it sits the Clooney Family Centre, a cross-community and partnership project which provides a range of family support services to children and families in the Waterside area of the city. The provision from this central base includes a crèche, parenting education/support, group-based parenting programmes, parent and toddler group, a personal development programme, men’s group, and an after-school club.

Outreach programmes provide some of these services in other community facilities, as well as within individual families’ homes. The aim is to provide a range of accessible family support services for children aged 0-12 and for their parents/carers.

Last Updated 03 December 2010