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Stop the Carraig Eden EvictionThe Irish Assemblies of God are selling Carraig Eden, a centre for people recovering from addiction - and the asking price is over €2 million. But, here's the thing - the promised they would sell it to the group supporting the residents - Tiglin - at only a fraction of this price. By the time Tiglin raised the money - the Irish Assemblies of God had decided to go back on their word and sell the centre for a huge profit instead. But, once the groups had raised the money and made an offer the Irish Assemblies of God decided to sell it on the private market for over €2 million instead. Here's what the resident's have to say: We are a group of past and present residents of Carraig Eden, Greystones writing to you to highlight the situation with Carraig Eden. This building has housed men of all ages, on their last stages of rehabilitation and re-entry to society over the last 10 years. The Greystones community has enabled these men to have support, re-integrate into a safe community and become valued members of this and other town’s. Our residents have become part of this community, becoming involved in the daily life and business of their town. In the last two week’s we have received Eviction notices. We would like to highlight the course of events and ask for your support in this situation. Approximately two years ago Tiglin Challenge Rehabilitation Centre in Ashford Co. Wicklow entered into negotiations to buy with the current owners, (IAOG) Irish Assemblies of God, (now Christian Churches Ireland, CCI). Tiglin had to withdraw from the negotiations as the price was increased on a number of occasions and they could not secure the funding. Another Christian endeavour, the “Save Carrig Eden Fund” took over trying to secure funds but unfortunately failed. In the meanwhile, Tiglin was able to secure the funding status they sought through Wicklow County Council and re-entered negotiations in September 2016 with IAOG. The deal was done through Wicklow County Council. As in the case of these complex deals, Wicklow County Council were two week’s late in the drawdown of their funding and IAOG pulled out of the deal. Since this time, it has become apparent that IAOG were offered 3 million from a developer for Carrig Eden. This action is resulting in up to 30 vulnerable men losing their home, we feel ours and those coming after us, hard fought rehabilitation is in jeopardy. We have been taught that if we have a problem, we go to our brother; if our brother does not listen we bring another brother to talk and see if it can be worked out. This is what we are doing, we have formed into a group and wish for our voices to be heard, we are supported by our leaders, churches and many people in the community and we now ask for your support. We are asking IAOG/CCI to come back to the table and honour their agreement with Wicklow County Council and Tiglin. That Carrig Eden continues to equip and strengthen the current and future residents who rely on this housing and its environment. “Carrig Eden is more than a house, it is a home, it is a family that take care of each other and push their siblings to strive towards their potential” .. “Without Carrig Eden, I would have been back in the area where all my problems began. Carrig Eden helped me to develop the skills needed to live, like paying rent and being independent.” “I have come from a life of addiction and homelessness, God saved me, I am on a CE scheme and volunteer with homeless and those in addiction. Please don’t take this opportunity away from me”. “ I need the people in Carrig Eden to support me and bring me through the next stages of my recovery. My chances of a new life are being destroyed and my dreams to help others like me are being crushed”. “Going through my addiction recovery has been the hardest thing in my life, but the best because I am now free from my addiction. I need Carraig Eden for its support, I have nowhere to go”. “If I don’t have Carraig Eden, I don’t have a future” “I have been able to deflect all the temptations that came my way because of the environment of Carraig Eden. I am living with people here with the same goal’s as me “I have been homeless, couldn’t read or write, I am now in education and getting my life on track. I need Carraig Eden to keep going.2,587 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Carraig Eden Residents
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Support Community Stables and Responsible Horse Ownership in Cherry OrchardThere is a long standing tradition of Urban Horsemanship in the cherry orchard area. At the moment horses are been left in fields because of no accesibility to local community based stables. This project hopes to address some of tge issues faced by the state . It will reduced pounding costs and promote investment in good quality horses through group ownership. Young People engaged in horse ownership are not as likly to be involved in anti social behaviours when the have the Responsiblity of caring for their horse. Horse Ownership can also has a positive impact on a young persons mental welbeing.15 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Jus Bren
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Leave Rural Post Offices AloneThe CEO of An Post has said he will close over 250 post offices in sparsely populated areas, this year. This is totally unacceptable, it cannot be justified that because an area is sparsely populated, a post office is not necessary. It is more important than ever,as rural post offices are an essential part of the community, providing many services other than just to post letters. Among these are pensions, banking, phone top-up, paying bills, to name but a few. This is totally unacceptable. I live in Carrigaholt on the Loop Head Peninsula where our main industry is tourism. It is an area of approximately 1200 sq km, and unfortunately we fit the criteria. Our post office is already the only remaining one out of an original 5. People are already travelling over 15km to use it's services, and to expect them to journey even further is disgusting. I understand that An Post has to make money, but closing post offices and putting up postage is not the way. Install broadband in the post office, even more services can be accessed, more people will use the post office. If the paperwork is made redundant by the post office being "on-line" that alone will generate enough income to run the rural business. Carrigaholt Post Office is the heart of our village. It offers local and tourist information as well as the expected services, it is a meeting place where many go to socialise, it is so much more than is expected by An Post, but not by a rural community. The only time some people go out is to collect the pension and those that have to rely on others to get them there will be unable to collect it, or carry out other transactions if the nearest post office is even further away. It is no good telling us we can have our pensions paid into the bank as we have no permanent bank to do so, this also means travelling. Local businesses use the post office every day for things like coinage and fliers. They would be affected greatly by it's closure. To take away our post office would be to take the heart from our community. It would kill it! Whenever a business has to make "financial cuts", it's always the rural areas that are looked at first, not larger urban ones. This is because financially, country areas have very little to offer large corporate organisations. It matters nothing to these people that we are left with very little, or that to use the post office will involve over an hour's time to do the minimum business. What we do have though is our pride and affection for our local post office, and so now is the time to let the country know that we won't accept the closures!!589 of 600 SignaturesCreated by Carole Head
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Keep people working in libraries not machinesPeople are losing contact with people leading to poorer mental health. Libraries are ideal places to have a chat with someone. Also working there is a lovely satisfying job.69 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Sinead O Brien
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Rathangan S.O.S. Save Our ServicesScooters Youth Club calls for reinstatement of services in Rathangan “There is not enough people harming themselves, is that why they took away the services? Do more people have to die in order for us to get services in Rathangan?” Evan Dowling, junior leader, Scooters Youth Club Young people of Rathangan are outraged after hearing the news that the funding for both the local youth counselling service and the youth worker are being cut by the HSE. A group of young people currently volunteering as junior leaders in Scooters Youth Club Rathangan have come together to express concerns for themselves, their peers and the next generation of young people after it has been confirmed that the HSE will no longer fund youth services in the area. The part time positions of both the counsellor and youth worker will cease by the end of April after almost three years. The positions, originally funded on a six monthly basis following a large number of suicides in a short period of time in the area have been renewed several times in the past, however the HSE have confirmed that the funding will cease at the end of the current contracts. We are asking people who are interested in getting involved in our campaign to follow our progress on social media on Snapchat Twitter Rathangan S.O.S and Facebook Rathangan S.O.S to support our Uplift campaign. Local TD’s, councillors and other stakeholders are currently being contacted to meet with the group of young people to discuss the impact of losing the services in the area and to devise a possible action plan. Strategies and possible solutions have been identified by the group such as; HSE selling their empty properties in Rathangan in order to fund the services, or the possibility of a mobile counsellor which services other areas as well as Rathangan. The loss of the youth worker now means that the youth café in the newly refurbished community centre will only open four hours per week compared to the current twenty three hours of use. Lisa Ennis a volunteer in Scooters Youth Club said; “The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs published a best practice guide for Youth Café’s in Ireland which clearly states that ‘the work within a youth café needs to be supported by trained professionals, such as youth workers’, it is not good enough for the state to provide us with funding for a space and take away funding for a youth worker to run it, nor is it good enough for our counselling service to be taken away with no alternative put in place. We feel as if we are being abandoned by the state after a plaster was put over the issue, but if we do not address the roots of access to transport and services, unemployment, inequality, isolation and poverty in our village the issues will arise again”. Evan Dowling a junior leader in Scooters Youth Club said; “There is not enough people harming themselves, is that why they took away the services? Do more people have to die in order for us to get services in Rathangan?” Unfortunately the issues faced by the young people of Rathangan are a common feature in Ireland today and in particular in rural Ireland, although funding for youth services was increased by 2.5% in last year’s budget the youth sector has seen an overall cut of 28.5% since 2008. Additionally access to transport and rural isolation remains a national issue with rural isolation being a reoccurring theme in the government’s new Action Plan for Rural Development. The government need to invest more in areas such as Rathangan in order to create happier and more sustainable communities.631 of 800 SignaturesCreated by Lisa Ennis
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Save T.A.R.G.E.T Community ServiceT.A.R.G.E.T is a vital community service that provides literacy skills, counselling, community employment, extensive training and affordable childcare to the local community in Donaghmede. But, we have just been told that they need to be out of their premises by June - leaving the future of the project - and all the people it supports - hanging in the balance. Can you sign the petition to ask Dublin City Council to make sure a suitable home for our project is found before the June deadline.787 of 800 SignaturesCreated by T.A.R.G.E.T Donaghmede
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HOME & SAFEFamilies may no longer be evicted from homes were mortgage was negotiated away from the business premises or by doorstep selling situation i.e. Broker arranged or when the right to cancel was not given i.e. a seven day cooling off period. S.I. No. 224/1989 - European Communities (Cancellation of Contracts Negotiated Away From Business Premises) Regulations, 1989.572 of 600 SignaturesCreated by Jason Ó Fionnáin
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Vera TwoomeyShe is leading the way to focus attention on the ineptitude of government health ministers!!5 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Dave Walby
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Save our GP's (Northern Ireland)GP's are an essential service within all communities accross Northern Ireland but this is under threat. GP's services have had and are having many GP's resigning and retiring yet we do not have enough people in training to replace those doctors. This is exasperated by underfunding of NHS creating a situation of too few beds then which ultimately puts far more pressure on GP's as people's only other source of ongoing treatment in the community.5 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Matt Beeching
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Parking and Lighting for IT Tralee StudentsParking, adequate lighting and traffic congestion issues have been a problem on Clash road, Tralee and areas leading of it for many years. Clash road is used by staff and students and provides access to IT Tralee, South Campus, Kerry ETB, Clash industrial estate and other areas on a daily basis. As parking is extremely limited in the Clash area, the KCC's solution since September 16' has been to fine all cars parked illegally rather than tackle the issue of a lack of parking in the area. A workable solution must be found for the students, staff and people who work and use Clash road on a daily basis.6 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Steve Clifford
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Dont let Irish Airports be used to enforce Trumps banWe are not racist, dont let Trump make us look like we are.27 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Martin Malone
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Support Teac TomWe are looking for government funding to keep this vital. immediate counselling and support service. We support children and adults that have lost someone to suicide or those that struggle with mental health issues2,041 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Angela O Connor








