Connacht Tribune
No room for hundreds at domestic abuse refuge
A domestic abuse refuge was unable to accommodate 441 children and 258 women last year due to the lack of space.
The 2017 annual report for Cope Galway shows the charity had the busiest year since it was set up helping homeless people and those affected by domestic violence.
The startling figures show that 214 children – over one third more than in 2016 – were supported by its domestic abuse staff along with 339 women. Some 62 children received emergency accommodation in the Cope refuge.
“It is always a matter of regret when we consider the numbers of women and children we are unable to accommodate – 258 women with 441 children, on 326 different occasions in 2017. When a woman seeks refuge with us, she is never turned away,” states the report.
“The ‘unable to accommodate’ figure indicates the number of women and their children who wished to stay with us, but for whom we could not provide a room. For these women, we work closely with other refuges in neighbouring counties, so that they can be safe in the immediate term, until space opens at ours; we also provide emergency accommodation where another refuge is not available or appropriate.”
The Cope Outreach Service saw a surge of 17% in demand across towns throughout the county as well as its Galway City base.
“The number of women dropping in for support and advice also increased dramatically (up 75% – 200 women in 2017, 114 women in 2016), evidencing the very real need that women have for information and support, when faced with an abusive, violent or coercive domestic life,” according to the report.
The homeless leg of the charity had a 44% increase in those using the service. It worked with 1,588 people who experienced homelessness in Galway, including 576 children.
A total of 164 families were provided with or placed in emergency accommodation by Cope Galway over the course of the year. This represented a 125% increase on the 2016 figure of 73.
One worker described it as a tsunami of family homelessness that hit in May 2015 and has continued unabated since.
Some 61 families moved on from emergency accommodation with 35 of these securing social housing tenancies and a further 23 moving to homes in the private rented sector. The remaining three moved into transitional accommodation.
A growth in rough sleeping in the city was a major contributing factor for the increased numbers seeking help.
“Although there have always been incidences of people sleeping rough in Galway City at any given time, the numbers were far higher in 2017. This situation placed considerable pressure on already over stretched services with the result that emergency accommodation projects operated at 100% occupancy levels throughout the year,” states the report.
The annual Cold Weather Response to address rough sleeping over the winter months, put in place by Galway City Council with the support of the HS and based at based at the COPE Galway Teach Corrib Day Centre, was expanded from 14 beds to 31 beds for the winter of 2017/18 and accommodated a total of 165 individuals between January and April.
“Another challenge Cope Galway faced in 2017 was responding to those who were rough sleeping who were without habitual residency status and so were not eligible for welfare and housing supports and services. Language and communication difficulties further added to the challenges in working toward identifying and implementing solutions to the needs of a cohort of people who were destitute.”
Cope Galway CEO Jacquie Horan said the housing crisis was having an acute impact on children and adults across all their service areas.
“Children, from aged a few weeks old to those in their teens, will be affected by any exposure to domestic abuse in their homes.
“Families experiencing domestic abuse have very limited housing options to move from a violent or abusive home and, as a direct consequence of the housing crisis, children are often exposed to the effects of domestic abuse over a longer period of time,” she said.
Dr Carol Baumann, Cope Galway Domestic Abuse Service Manager, stressed that prolonged stress at a young age over a long period of time can be detrimental to a child’s physical and mental health as they grow up.
The planned new Cope refuge in the Magdalen convent is taking longer than planned, with best estimates for completion pushed out to late 2019.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
