CLASP continues to grow from strength to strength
CLASP was established in 1997 by a local voluntary committee in an effort to regenerate and halt the significant decline in the Lough Arrow area which was experiencing rural depopulation and immigration. The committee was successful in receiving a project under the Community Development Programme which was the catalyst for the further development of the project. CLASP has always had a social enterprise focus based on social inclusion and assisting those marginalised and isolated in rural Ireland through the provision of direct services which will have a positive impact on their everyday lives.
The quality of life program was the first project developed by the company. We provide a number of services through the program including a meal on wheels project delivering 110 meals on average a day across East Sligo, co-ordinate five active age clubs in the catchment area , in local community centres, on average 90 people attend the clubs receiving a home cooked meal and participating in recreational and social activities. The project also has an extensive homecare and visitation service delivering up to 120 hours per week to older people in their homes. The overall objective of the quality of life project is to offer CHOICE to older people and to assist them if possible to remain living independently in their own homes and communities.
The second program we manage is the Rural Transport Project which established in 2003 under POBAL, our application was approved under a pilot community car scheme model which was facilitated by a group of local volunteer drivers. We have adopted this model over the years through the social network and structure within the community and now have 250 older people as members of the transport project. We have build up our transport fleet to three full accessible minibuses and two smaller minibuses, employing two bus drivers from our own income. CLASP undertakes on average 23,000 journeys each year to numerous social and health related appointments. The rural transport project receives a direct awards contract from the National Transport Authority.
In 2010 at the height of the recession the project adopted to the changing social and economic factors in our community focusing specifically on men made unemployed from the construction industry and single men living alone or caring for elderly parents. We applied and received funding from the International Fund for Ireland to set up a men development project incorporating a social enterprise and men shed. We transformed an unused community centre in and turned it into a training social centre developing a garden furniture enterprise sustaining the shed overhead costs with possibility of creating employment in the long term.
The new rural transport route will be a significant milestone in the project future and already its benefits can be seen with the creation of a full time and part time job which will add to our growing staff team. We hope the people of Gurteen and Ballymote and surrounding townlands support the new route.