Empowering and Enriching Peoples Lives
As we have over 100 people who use our service, the level of support and service provision differs from person to person.
However, we run a number of different educational and community programmes within the service; these are called Choices and New Directions.
We also provide a Keyworker System as well as a Health and Wellbeing service and an Employment Service.
Click on the tabs below for more information on each of these areas
Choices
Our first programme is called Choices.
This is our Rehabilitative Training Programme. In most cases people come directly from school into Choices and spend either three or four years learning different life skills.
As people complete different subjects (such as Information Technology, Personal Care and Presentation, Using Information, Self-Advocacy, Art, Drama and Ceramics) they receive FETAC certificates on completion of their course.
Opportunities to learn about work and carry out work experience placements are also offered.
A lot of what we deliver takes place in a training room but we also do lots of different activities in the community.
New Directions
Our second programme is called New Directions.
New Directions is all about supporting people to do things that they themselves choose to do in the community.
The ethos of the New Directions programme is to support people to have meaningful, socially inclusive and independent lives. As we deliver this programme we encourage people to:
- make choices and plans to support their own personal goals
- have influence over decisions which affect their own lives
- achieve goals and aspirations
- be active, independent members of their community and society.
We also run classes in areas like computers, budgeting, healthy living, friendships and relationships, art and crafts, assertiveness and personal safety. We also offer programmes for expression and creative skills such as pottery, art, gardening and drama.
We also encourage people to attend different courses in their community. Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) runs a Certificate in Contemporary Living and Certificate in Leadership and Advocacy which a number of people have completed, while others have been representatives in a number of national advocacy groups such as A Seat at the Table and the National Advocacy Platform.
We also provide a wide variety of cultural and social outings.
New Directions (for older people)
We have also designed our supports and services around the needs of older people. We support people to re-connect with their communities, and to make informed choices about the things that they want to do. We aim to support people in looking positively at the aging process and support life-long learning through reminiscence and other techniques.
We also support older people to partake in meaningful activities. Many people are supported to partake in a number of social and leisure activities such as aquafit classes, coffee mornings, tea dances, music events, competitions and exhibitions, church and worship, cinema and other events.
Every person in the service is assigned a key worker from the staff team which people choose themselves.
The person and the key worker work alongside each other in planning their goals and things that they would like to do.
Through our Health and Wellbeing service, a range of health related supports are provided. As well as supporting people to avail of clinical supports in the community including GP, Dental, Optometrists, Chiropody, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech and Language Therapists, the service also provides Health and Wellbeing supports within Malta Services itself.
Our Health & Wellbeing Co-ordinator will give attention (in the form of small group discussions, or one to one chats) to specific male and female issues, such as breast check, blood pressure monitoring, prostate health, smear testing, and diabetes testing.
Complementary therapies are also offered, and many people avail of weekly reflexology sessions, which rotate on a six weekly basis. Other therapies on offer include, Indian head massage, kansa vatki foot and leg massage, back massage, and hand and arm massage.
We are very proud of our employment service in Malta Services Drogheda. This is an active labour market initiative which facilitates job seekers to find employment and supports them and their employers through the whole employment process.
We have a dedicated Employment Support Co-coordinator who sources work placements and who supports people to to complete mainstream training programmes with a view to gaining access to a professional working environment.
A Preparation for Employment programme is delivered by our Employment Support Co-ordinator. Once people complete the programme, they then progress to the local Drogheda Job Club, where they learn to apply practical techniques in relation to employable/marketable skills, personal attributes and job seeking skills.
We continue to work closely with a variety of local businesses and other local services and community groups to help us achieve our aims including Louth Volunteers, RAPID, Louth Leader Partnership, DIFE, as well as the Department of Social Protection, Drogheda Council of Trade Unions, Louth Voluntary Services, Drogheda job Club, Drogheda Resource Centre, Irish Wheel Chair Association, Louth VEC among others.