b'DEPAULCosn NuaA New Path With the help of Cosn Nua, Francine was able to get In early 2019, Depaul, in partnership with the Depart- a foothold in her new community and link in with vital ment of Justice in Ireland, began working with asylumservices. Francine says, Since I moved to Longford De-seekers who had been granted legal status to remain inpaul have helped me with everything. Her children are Ireland. Cosn Nua (the Irish term meaning New Path)now in school and crche and Francine is linking in with is the bespoke Depaul service that was borne out of thethe Community Support Centre in Longford. With the fu-need to help these new arrivals to Ireland with securingture looking brighter now for Francine and her family, her accommodation and establishing roots in the communi- next step is to continue her nursing course and nd a job ty. Throughout 2019 Depaul worked across eight coun- as a care assistant within the community.ties and supported over 300 asylum seekers, includingAlongside The Ireland Funds Flagship Award, Depaul 168 adults and 160 children, to resettle in the community. have been a recipient of Donor Advised Funds for a num-ber of years. Depaul was delighted to receive another Setting up homes anddonation in 2020 specically for provision of basic and essential items for setting up a household for those mov-integrating communities ing from Direct Provision into their own home. This has TheIrelandFundsFlagshipAward,whichDepaulbeen hugely benecial for many individuals and families.was awarded in 2019, supports the role of a TenancySustainment and Integration Worker to work with this Adapting to the new normalvulnerabledemographic.Thisworkerisbasedinthe COVID-19 has had a huge impact on many of the people community and provides post-resettlement support for that Depaul supports. The team at Cosn Nua adapted families and individuals once they move out of Directquickly to new ways of working. A complete move to on-Provision.Thissupportensuresthatpeoplethriveinline working was adopted. The team stays connected with their new communities and maintain their tenancies inpeople via video call, phone and text. Its working very the long-term. well, said Magda. People have got used to receiving Depauls Integration Worker supports 25 individualsvideo support from Depaul very quickly.or family units at any one time and the service is availableIt was during a crucial time, at the height of the rst for up to 6 months. Moving from Direct Provision backwave of the pandemic in April, that The Ireland Funds into the community is a huge shift for people. It includessteppedupagainprovidingvitalfundstoDepaul so many challenges including language barriers. In Di- through an Emergency Support grant. This grant whichrect Provision everything is provided and then suddenlysupportedtheorganizationsoperationalcostsmeant its not, said Magda, the Depaul Manager who overseesthat there was limited impact on service provision across the service. Depauls services, including Cosn Nua.Since COVID-19 hit Ireland, Depauls Cosn Nua ser-THE IRELAND FUNDSvice has been able to support over 352 people to move FLAGSHIP AWARD away from Direct Provision living and into their own Essential Help for House homes.and Home The ongoing needsFrancine came to Ireland in 2013 from DR Congo withCosn Nua continues to be incredibly successful in its her little boy. Having spent some time in a Direct Provi- life changing work, even in the face of adversity and in sion center in Cork, Francine was then moved to anotherthe dicult and changing working environment caused center in Mosney, Co Meath. After 5 long years she re- by the pandemic. More people than ever are being reset-ceived legal status to remain in Ireland and Depaul soontled into local communities, with 46% of all people the began working with her. In May of this year, after 2 yearsteam supported in Direct Provision successfully resettled of searching, Francine found a place to call home for herin 2019. As of the autumn of this year [2020], this g-young family in Longford and a new chapter of her lifeure has grown to 58%, translating to 157 households. The began. However, Francine still required help and that isIntegration Worker supports up to 25 households over whereDepaulsTenancySustainmentandIntegrationa 6-month period and will reach 50 in total throughout Worker came in. the year. As there isnt the capacity to support everyone Supportprovidedisswiftandcondentialandit at the moment, households with the greatest need areimmediatelytakesweightopeoplesshoulders.Oneprioritized. Additional funding would mean that more of the key aims of the service is empowering people sopeople could be supported with a smoother transition fromthat they can start building their condence in making Direct Provision, develop their stake in local communities connections in their own local communities. and quickly become part of the fabric of life in Ireland.connect 202028'