Family Resource Centres and the Meitheal process How does a Meitheal come about? The family itself chooses if they wish to participate in a Meitheal. The first step is for a supportive person from one of the child and family services in the area, called
Local Child and Support Networks and Meitheals
A Child and Family Support Network is a new way of developing family supports in local areas. This is a national initiative established by Tusla, the Children and Family Agency. The network brings together all the family support services – to work more effectively to offer support to children and families – in a preventative way before a problem turns into crisis; to ‘nip it in the bud’ and work out solutions together with the family.
The kinds of child and family support services that might be involved are schools, youth services, family resource centres and medical services.
The CFSNs are being set up throughout the country and there will be 8 established in County Kerry by the end of the year in the following centres- Tralee, North Kerry including Listowel, Killarney , Cahersiveen, Killorglin, Kenmare, Dingle and Castleisland. The Family Resource Centres are central to the rolling out of the Child and Family Networks.
The process of putting a team of supports around a child has been called a “Meitheal” from the old Irish tradition of neighbours gathering to support each other. A ‘Meitheal’ can be requested by a family and this is where the family meets a few of the relevant agencies to look at their own specific family support needs. A family may be receiving support from different services but finding it difficult to deal with them all at once. A Meitheal can help families get the support that is best in a co-ordinated manner.
This Meitheal process is geared for preventative child and family support needs, for example: Problems at school Not getting on with your child Family problems Coping with illness or bereavement Difficult Behaviour