Navan-based charity in countywide appeal after funding cut

The quiet and discreet support of the Clann Mór charity has, for many years, been transforming the lives of adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. The charity, which has its headquarters at Commons Road in Navan, but which provides supported living accommodation in eight locations around the county, is a voluntarily-run organisation which has been helping people with intellectual disabilities live independent lives for many years. Over the next few weeks, the group will be raising funds to help fund the vital supports it provides to many families with a series of churchgate collections around the county. Clann Mór is a community-based respite, residential and outreach support service. It supports adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities to live permanently in community-based homes. Director of service Martine Healy explained that the service provides vital supports to people living in small groups in ordinary homes, as well as those who choose to live alone, including those who remain in the family homes when everyone else is gone. Clann Mór provides respite breaks, which benefit both the service-users themselves and their families. The group homes are in ordinary houses in eight locations in Navan, Kells and Ashbourne. Sarah Loughran lives in one of Clann Mór's group houses and loves the freedom it gives her. "It has got me out of my parents' house and I can get out and socialise more and the staff are a great support," she says. Sarah lives in Navan, where she also went to school, and has many friends in the town. She says that, ultimately, she would like to be able to live on her own. Another service user said: "I have learned a lot of new skills and live independently with support. I have great days out, holidays and parties. I get so much support and always have a great laugh." Rita Collins is another who greatly appreciates the support given by Clann Mór. Her sister, Margaret, stays at the respite centre one night a week. "It gives her a break and we know she is happy with her peers. It is good for her and it is great for our family to know we have good support. The people at Clann Mór are extremely caring and very good to us," she said. The charity's major fundraiser each year is a churchgate collection, which last year raised over €20,000 to help fund its work. This year, more than ever, Clann Mór is appealing for support from the public in the face of cutbacks in State funding over the past few years. The collection will take place this coming Saturday and Sunday at all churches in Meath, except Laytown, Donore, Bellewstown and Mornington, which will take place on 16th and 17th April; Kells and Ratoath, which will be held on 30th April and 1st May, and Duleek which takes places on 11th and 12th June. Clann Mór is a voluntary organisation, with charitable status and is a company limited by guarantee, governed by a board of directors. Martine Healy explains that volunteers play a key role in Clann Mór and said they are always looking for more volunteers. She said the team leader is Catherine Bradley and the frontline staff all are extremely dedicated and go way beyond the call of duty in their work, despite having agreed to take a salary cut last year because of cutbacks. She said the Navan Employment Development Project is also a great support, providing community employment staff. She says the bulk of their funding comes from the HSE, but the group also applies for National Lottery grants and to People in Need for support. In the last two years, Clann Mór has found itself under pressure following severe cuts in its funding from the HSE, but Martine says the level of service must remain the same. In fact, the group is hoping to establish yet another group house in the county in the next few months. The charity was founded in the late 1970s and was first known as the Parents and Friends of the Mentally Handicapped. It was a support group providing a meeting place and focus point for parents and friends. At this time, most of the group's time was spent on fundraising to support day and school services which were already established in Navan. In time, the group turned its attention to the prospect of the provision of respite care. With this in mind, it secured a loan to buy a suitable property, which was known at the time as St Oliver's, Commons Road, Navan. In December 2006, the company changed its name to Clann Mór Residential and Respite Ltd, and now operates under the name Clann Mór.