Community Resilience Fund - Pobal
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Community Resilience Fund
Contents
Glossary of terms ........................................................................................................ii
Executive Summary ................................................................................................... 3
1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6
Fund overview ........................................................................................................ 7
2. Strand 1 CRF Actions ......................................................................................... 9
Minding your Mood ............................................................................................... 12
Your County .......................................................................................................... 16
Switching Off and Being Creative ......................................................................... 19
Crafts ................................................................................................................ 22
Staying Connected (Community Call) ................................................................... 24
3. Strand 2 CRF Actions ....................................................................................... 27
Age Friendly Ireland.............................................................................................. 27
Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) ............................................... 30
4. Challenges ........................................................................................................ 35
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 37
6. Appendices ....................................................................................................... 39
Appendix 1: All actions by CRF theme and LA/ CYPSC area ............................... 39
Appendix 2: Number of young people who participated in activities, by organisation
assigned age bands.............................................................................................. 65
Appendix 3: Kilkenny Local Authority Crafts theme - small grants scheme .......... 66
7. References ........................................................................................................ 68
i|Page
Glossary of terms
CRF Community Resilience Fund
CYPSC Children and Young People’s Services Committees
DCCI Design Crafts Council Ireland
DoH The Department of Health
GANS Guilds, Associations, Networks and Societies
HIF Healthy Ireland Fund
IABA Irish Artist Blacksmiths Association
Joint applicant Joint application for CRF between LA and CYPSC
LA Local Authorities
NDCG National Design & Craft Gallery
Strand 1 organisations Local organisations funded under HIF. Includes Local
Authorities (LA) and Children and Young People’s
Service Committees (CYPSC)
Strand 2 organisations National organisations funded under HIF. Includes the
Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and
Age Friendly Ireland/Meath Co. Council.
ii | P a g e
Executive Summary
The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) was funded by the Department of Health’s
Sláintecare unit and was administered under the Healthy Ireland Fund (HIF) by Pobal.
The CRF was an initiative under the Keep Well campaign, which focused on assisting
individuals and communities to maintain their resilience and wellbeing in response to
COVID-19.
The HIF is structured around two funding strands, therefore the CRF followed this
model for grant administration purposes; Strand 1 was available to Local Authorities
(LAs) and Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSCs) and ran from
December 2020 to June 2021. Strand 2 was administered to national organisations
and funded actions from December 2020 until December 2021, having been extended
past September 2021. This resulted in 52 organisations receiving the CRF (50 Strand
1 organisations and 2 Strand 2 organisations).
Strand 1 organisations were allocated funding to spend on actions which aligned to
four themes, depending on their organisation type. Some key quantitative
achievements of the Strand 1 actions, which demonstrate the significant uptake by
participants and the level and volume of work organisations invested are outlined
below.
5,8141 young people were directly engaged with,
Minding your Mood while 220,283 young people across the country
(only available to were reached through awareness raising. In
CYPSCs) addition, 237 resources were designed for young
people.
1Please note, the number of participants engaged with / the reach of the thematic actions is
susceptible to duplication error. The participants numbers provided by each organisation were
summed together to give the total participant counts. However, individuals may have participated in
more than one action within a thematic area, therefore these numbers are indicative of activity
participation, rather than a summation of unique attendees
3|Page
There were 7,712 community helpline calls, from
Staying Connected
(Community Call) 3,984 individuals. In addition, 893 befriending
(only available to LAs) activities were implemented, which reached
402,658 people across the country.
Switching off and being 321,097 people were reached through the 11,358
Creative
(only available to LAs) activities implemented.
Your County 225,793 people were reached through the 22,781
(only available to LAs) activities implemented.
The Strand 2 organisations implemented national actions and were funded for very
specific initiatives; these were ‘COVID Care Concerts’, ‘Grow It Forward’ and ‘Ireland
Reads’. Given their targeted focus, Strand 2 actions did not have to align to any one
theme. All three of the national actions demonstrated substantial progress against their
agreed outcomes and outputs.
16,940 residents benefitted from 250 concerts
COVID Care Concerts delivered across Dublin, Kerry, Waterford and
Wexford.
50,000 Grow It Forward kits were distributed and
100% of those participants surveyed had sowed
Grow It Forward
their seeds, while 95% indicated they would
continue to grow food themselves.
9,474 people pledged more than 900,000 minutes of
Ireland Reads reading on Ireland Reads Day, exceeding the initial
target of 90,000 minutes.
4|Page
In total, the Strand 1 organisations implemented 558 actions across the four themes
– see Table 1 for a breakdown of actions by theme - with actions being implemented
based on local need. As such, the diversity and variety of the actions delivered; both
across and within the thematic areas was very evident. Actions were not generic or
stagnant, but rather flexible and reflexive to the presenting needs and issues within an
area. Actions ranged from large scale online or mailing campaigns about supports
available within an area to actions in which a small number of targeted participants
were directly engaged. For example, Donegal County Council reported a significant
participant reach for their social media campaign to promote their Your County action;
this action gained 788,695 impressions across social media. In contrast Galway City
Council implemented a much more targeted action under the Staying Connected
theme; in collaboration with COPE Galway, 20 persons who were homeless and rough
sleeping were engaged with via an Outreach team. This action was implemented as a
befriending activity, and those linked in with were encouraged to attend services (such
as homeless day services), doctors and some people were supported in returning
home.
Table 1: Distribution of Strand 1 actions by theme
Strand 1 Theme No. of Actions
Minding your Mood 79
Staying Connected 135
Switching off and being Creative 207
Your County 137
Total 558
Throughout the funding period, the organisations demonstrated their resilience and
dedication, adapting rapidly to the challenging operating environment, to implement
actions which met the needs of those within their respective areas. There was a strong
sense of collaboration and community engagement, with many organisations
benefitting from the shared knowledge and experience of their partner organisations
which included the HSE, An Garda Síochána, Age Friendly Ireland and a variety of
other national and local community groups. This commitment ensured the success of
the CRF to support and strengthen community well-being and resilience at a time of
crisis experienced by every individual across the Country.
5|Page
1. Introduction
The Sláintecare Unit of the Department of Health allocated just over €4.05m in late
2020 for a new initiative called the Community Resilience Fund (CRF). This new fund
was administered as part of the Healthy Ireland Fund programme (HIF).
The various actions and activities funded under CRF contributed to the ‘Keep Well’
campaign and the overall Government Plan for “Living with COVID-19”. This plan was
a national campaign which focused on five major themes2 to ensure that people had
opportunities within their local community to help themselves keep well. Additionally,
the Living with COVID-19: Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 plan highlighted the
important role that individual and community resilience plays in contributing to the
ongoing response to COVID-19 (Government of Ireland, 2020).
The CRF aimed to assist individuals and communities to maintain their resilience and
wellbeing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a recognition within the
CRF for the rapid activation of community resilience supports in response to this
extremely challenging time. However an unforeseen move back to Level 5 lockdown
for the whole country in late December 2020, in response to rising case numbers as a
result of the Delta variant, contributed to an even more difficult operating environment.
With a 5km limit on travel which remained in place for 103 days, and some restrictions
lasting until June 2021, the CRF could not have come at a more needed, yet incredibly
challenging time for the organisations to implement.
Through the already established funding model for HIF, the CRF was awarded to Local
Authorities (LAs), Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSCs) and
national organisations. The HIF is administered via two strands; Strand 1 is awarded
at local level to LAs and CYPSCs. The organisations also had the option to apply to
the fund as ‘joint’ applicants (one LA and one CYPSC). In total, 50 organisations were
awarded funding under Strand 1. Strand 2 of the fund was awarded to organisations
with a national remit; there were three Strand 2 actions, facilitated by two
organisations. Table 2 below gives an overview of how the CRF was dispersed across
the 52 various HIF organisation types.
2The five main Keep Well campaign themes are: Keeping Active, Staying Connected, Switching off
and Being Creative, Eating Well, and Managing your Mood.
6|Page
Table 2: Distribution of funding awarded by organisation type
Strand and Application type Number
Strand 1: Local Authorities 23
Strand 1: CYPSC 19
Strand 1: Joint Application (LA and CYPSC) 8
Strand 2: National Organisations 2
Total 52
The CRF ran from December 20203 to 30 June 2021 for Strand 1 organisations. Initially
it was envisaged for the fund to operate until March 2021, however considering the
difficult operating environment due to the continued level 5 COVID-19 restrictions, this
end date was extended until June 2021. The Strand 2 organisations received the fund
at the same time (December 2020); however, they had a longer delivery period until
September 2021 which was subsequently extended until December 2021.
Fund overview
Strand 1 organisations were allocated the CRF for actions aligning to four themes,
depending on their organisation type, with one exception, Kilkenny County Council
were awarded funding for a fifth theme (‘Crafts’, outlined below). While the Strand 2
organisations implemented national actions, and they did not have to align their
actions to one particular theme, rather aligning it to the goals of the CRF.
1. Minding your Mood
The Minding your Mood theme was only applicable for CYPSC organisations
(including joint applications of a LA and CYPSC). This theme specifically focused on
supporting children and young people’s mental health, during the COVID-19
pandemic.
2. Your County
This theme was available to Local Authorities only (including joint applications of a LA
and CYPSC). The Your County theme focused on delivering and promoting local
actions under the Keep Well Campaign, in conjunction with Age Friendly Co-
3The period of eligible spend for Strand 1 organisations was from 13/11/2020, however activities
were to take place from December 2020 onwards.
7|Page
ordinators, or in collaboration with Community Forums. Local Authorities were required
to use a minimum of 50% of their Your County allocation for Age Friendly activities.
3. Switching off and Being Creative
This theme was available to Local Authorities only (including joint applications of a LA
and CYPSC). This theme focused on delivering creative actions and initiatives locally
(i.e. creative entertainment, reading & writing and photography). Considerations were
to be given to the use of historical spaces and places in the locality, where applicable.
This theme also encompassed a sub-theme ‘Crafts’, which included an associated
small grants scheme. This was administered by Kilkenny Local Authority to facilitate
activities in partnership with the Crafts Council of Ireland (located in Kilkenny).
4. Staying Connected (Community Call)
This theme was available to Local Authorities only (including joint applications of a LA
and CYPSC) and had a focus on expanding the befriending activities and the
community call initiatives within the locality. Local Authorities were required to use at
a minimum, 50% of their Community Call allocation in conjunction with Age Friendly
Co-ordinators to activate befriending activities locally and the remaining 50% of this
theme’s budget was to be used to support the Community Call.
5. Crafts (Kilkenny County Council only)
This was a specific initiative which was available to Kilkenny County Council only, who
delivered the action in partnership with the Design and Crafts Council. The Crafts
theme comprised of a series of creative actions and activities that promote well-being
and resilience during the pandemic. In addition to the various actions there was a
‘small grants programme’ where Guilds, Associations, Networks and Societies
(GANS) across Ireland could apply for grants for activities which also aligned to this
theme.
6. Strand 2 actions
Funding was awarded to two HIF Strand 2 organisations, funding a total of 3 actions.
Age Friendly Ireland implemented one action while the Local Government
Management Agency implemented two actions.
8|Page
2. Strand 1 CRF Actions
€2.9 million in funding was awarded to Strand 1 organisations, of which €2.4 has been
verified as eligible spend. The report is inclusive of 484 of the 50 Strand 1 reports due
for submission.
There was a high number of actions (558 actions) delivered across the country. There
were a small number of actions where quantitative data was not available at the time
of submission, however a qualitative progress overview was provided. Generally, the
output figures were not available due to an on-going action or an action which had
recently finished, and the numeric data was not yet collated.
Throughout the report the number of participants engaged with within a thematic area
has been summed together to give the total participant number for that thematic area.
However, it should be noted that individuals may have participated in more than one
action within a thematic area, therefore these numbers are indicative of activity
participation, rather than a summation of unique attendees
There was a wide range of diversity and imagination evident across the actions under
the five thematic areas, however trends were observed in the type of actions
implemented across the themes.
Music appeared as a thematic area across four of the CRF action
themes and proved to be an enjoyable and highly successful
initiative in alleviating isolation, as a befriending initiative, for
educational purposes and bringing a sense of ‘normality’.
Action types included outdoor concerts, music lessons and ‘musical memories’ (virtual
connections through music with older members of the community and primary school
children). Grantees implemented the various musical actions aimed towards different
groups including the general population, but mainly targeting older people and children
and young people.
4Two CYPSCs did not submit a CRF report at the time of writing (September 2021). They are Galway
CYPSC and Kilkenny CYPSC.
9|PageFigure 1: A snippet from Laois County Councils musical memories advertisement
The manager of a nursing home in Co. Donegal remarked on their experience of
Donegal County Councils action ‘Music in Donegal Care Homes’ saying:
“It was a great afternoon for all of us. Residents loved every
minute of their performance, all the singing and dancing
made us feel as if we were really getting back to normality
after a long year without any such entertainment.”
Another common action type focused on Christmas. Similar to the musical actions, the
Christmas actions appeared as a thematic area across four of the CRF action themes
with a wide-reaching target audience. The types of actions were diverse, including
Christmas hampers, packs for the elderly, movie packs for children, a Christmas lights
video, various online creative Christmas workshops and sending Christmas cards.
Clare County Council combined Christmas with an upcycling challenge for Children
and adults.
10 | P a g eThe organisations reported an array of benefits associated with
the Christmas actions, such as alleviating isolation, encouraging
people to enjoy their county and enjoy time with family, and
reducing risks such as food poverty associated with financial
pressures.
Figure 2: Clare County Councils upcycling Christmas challenge advertisement
11 | P a g eMinding your Mood
The Minding your Mood actions and initiatives supported children and young people’s
mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the only theme available to
CYPSC5 organisations and was not available to LAs.
Figure 3: Map of ‘Minding your Mood’ actions by County/ CYPSC area6
23 CYPSCs delivered 79
actions supporting the
Minding your Mood
theme
5 Among the 23 CYPSCs there are three combined CYPSCs. They are Longford & Westmeath,
Leitrim & Sligo, and Laois & Offaly. Two CYPSCs did not submit a CRF report at the time of writing
(September 2021). They are Galway CYPSC and Kilkenny CYPSC.
6 Please note counties Westmeath and Longford are merged together and Leitrim and Sligo are
merged together, both CYPSCs implemented two actions across the two counties. Laois and Offaly
have also merged together and implemented 6 actions across the two counties.
The 13 actions in Dublin are divided between 4 different CYPSC. Dublin City and South Dublin
County had 5 actions each, Dublin City South has 2 actions while Fingal CYPSC had one action.
12 | P a g eMinding your Mood actions and initiatives engaged with 5,814 young people across
Ireland, ranging from 0 to 24 years old. The majority of actions were aimed at children
and young people in general, while just under a fifth (19%) were targeted at those from
disadvantaged communities or families; Traveller and Roma communities; and
Asylum Seekers and Refugees. As seen in figure 4 the largest cohort of young people
were aged 0 to 12 years old (2,765). A full breakdown of the number of young people
by all age bands is provided in Appendix 2.
Figure 4: Number of young people who participated in activities, by prescribed age bands
0 - 12 years 2,765
10 - 24 years 751
12 - 24 years 482
Other 436
Not specified 1,380
The significant amount of planning, preparation, and promotion that CYPSCs applied
to their actions was evident, this was especially important given the implementation
challenges due to continued COVID restrictions. For example, Dublin City CYPSC in
collaboration with the Supporting Traveller and Roma Team (STAR) ran workshops
designed to engage young Traveller girls in relationship building, self-care skills and
developing self-esteem. Thirty-three young people engaged in the workshops. In order
to advertise their action and reach the action target group, they forwarded information
on the workshops to 19 schools, provided information in their newsletter and within
local media, contacted their open cases and linked in with local Traveller
organisations.
In addition to direct engagement with young people, the CYPSCs
reported reaching 220,283 young people through awareness
raising activities and promotional campaigns.
13 | P a g eSome CYPSCs estimated all young people in their target age band and/ or area would
engage with their promotional activities. For example, Cork CYPSC reported that
30,000 young people aged between 13 and 18 would view their resilience video as
the video was distributed to all secondary schools and youth groups in Cork City and
County, as well as shared on social media.
Figure 5: A promotional photo shared online by Wexford CYPSC
In targeting and engaging with young people, 237 resources were developed, of which
the majority were online resources such as videos. Meath CYPSC developed 6 online
resources (online courses) to engage young people during the lockdown and
associated restrictions, these included Grow Your Own, Dancing, Beauty Care,
Nutritious & Delicious, and Get Fit with H.I.I.T. The resources targeted young people
with additional needs, young people in care, young people in homeless
accommodation and in direct provision.
14 | P a g eRoscommon CYPSC also developed resources for young people, launching 4 videos
as part of their youth friendly digital media campaign. The videos offered an insight
into mental health services available to young people in Roscommon and had input
from various local mental health services.
“My daughters participated in the cookery course & loved it as
well as the skincare & makeup classes again they really enjoyed
the classes they did do. This was really a great initiative to
engage young people throughout a difficult time & hopefully you
will get funding for more courses. My daughter is in TY & there's
very little going on & work experience was cancelled so these
kind of courses are great.” - a parent who’s daughters participated
in the courses.
15 | P a g eYour County
The Your County theme focused on delivering and promoting local actions under the
Keep Well campaign in collaboration with Age Friendly Co-ordinator and Community
Forums. LAs were required to use a minimum of 50% of their “Your County” allocation
for Age Friendly activities. This theme was available to LAs only.
Figure 6: Map of ‘Your County’ actions by County7
31 Local Authorities
delivered 137 actions
supporting the
Your County theme
7The map is county based, the LA breakdown for Dublin is; Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (6), South
Dublin (2), Dublin City (1) and Fingal (1). Cork has 2 cities based and 2 county-based actions, while
Galway has 6 city based and 3 county-based actions.
16 | P a g eThe LAs reported that 225,793 participants engaged in activities
delivered under the Keep Well campaign. The actions ranged
from large scale initiatives availed of by the general population
and smaller ones which supported specific target groups.
For example, Kerry County Council reported that 28,900 members of the general
population engaged in their Medieval Herb Garden & Sensory Gardens actions, as it
was estimated that number of people visited the park and saw the new herb garden.
Whereas Kildare County Council reported a much lower number for their participant
engagement, for their targeted action ‘CARA Autism in Sport Online Workshop’,
delivered by Kildare Sports Partnership and the CARA Centre. This action comprised
of a workshop for parents, teachers and sports coaches and included practical
strategies for engaging people with autism in sports sessions, which 40 participants
attended.
There were 22,781 age friendly collaboration activities facilitated as part of the Your
County actions. Longford County Council reported 800 activities for their action
‘Longford Keep Well Health and Fitness Challenge 2021’, as they provided 800
exercise booklets for older people. The action proved beneficial in keeping people
active during the pandemic.
2,000 older people benefitted
The Medieval Herb Garden &
from ‘random acts of
Sensory Gardens in Kerry
kindness’ carried out by
had 28,900 visitors
young people in Offaly
Kerry County Council launched the ‘Promotion of the ‘Keep Well Kerry’ Campaign’,
which encouraged people to avail of the various programmes and events within the
county under the Keep Well initiative.
17 | P a g eFigure 7: A still from Kerry County Councils promotional video for the ‘Keep Well Kerry’ Campaign’
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTFnZyOa3fk)
Offaly County Council implemented a ‘Random Act of Kindness Initiative’, which
comprised of 12 activities. These included activities such as bingo sessions in an
assisted living area for the older people ran by young people, gifts for older people,
visiting older people, supporting local businesses that have struggled throughout the
pandemic, and competitions on social media. Twenty young people with the support
of 9 youth workers organised and carried out the random act of kindness in the towns
of Edenderry, Tullamore and Birr. It was estimated that 2,000 people in the county
were impacted by this action.
Other activities carried out by the various LAs included delivering community resilience
packs, a culture show, a kayaking programme for children, ICT training and
dissemination of ICT equipment to enable communication and reduce isolation.
18 | P a g eSwitching Off and Being Creative
The Switching off and Being Creative theme had the highest number of actions
delivered. Actions focused on delivering creative actions and initiatives locally, with
special considerations to be given to the use of historical spaces and places in the
locality. The target group for these actions was the general population however,
organisations were encouraged to target specific vulnerable or marginalised
population cohorts where possible.
Figure 8: Map of ‘Switching off and Being Creative’ actions by County8
31 Local Authorities delivered
207 actions supporting the
Switching off and Being
Creative theme
8 The map is county based, the LA breakdown for Dublin is Dublin City (4), Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
(4), South Dublin (4) and Fingal (1). Cork has 9 city based and 2 county-based actions, while Galway
has 3 city based and 4 county-based actions.
19 | P a g eThe LAs delivered 11,358 activities within the Switching Off and
Being Creative theme, supporting over 300,000 participants.
There were notable differences in the types of actions carried out. For example, 15
older females participated in one of Louth County Councils actions which brought
together members of Ardee Active Retirement to meet outside and collaborate on a
creative and historical Art Project.
While Wexford LA implemented a radio campaign ‘Together Radio Programme’. This
initiative had an estimated reach of 60,000 participants (the listenership of South East
Radio) in a very successful action which was extended from 10 weeks to 20 weeks
due to its popularity, and was part funded by Wexford County Council. The weekly
radio programme comprised of three guests a week who highlighted various supports
and services and discussed various topical issues. A total of 60 topics, supports &
services were highlighted over the 20 weeks.
448 children aged 3 to 5
Dublin City Council’s
participated in Kilkenny’s
‘Glasshouse’ provided
‘Sending a Smile Project’
a space for local residents
aimed at increasing their
to create, switch off and learn
exposure to creativity through
new gardening skills.
oral language and stories.
Kilkenny County Council implemented 12 activities (the same activity but within 12
different pre-schools within the LA area). The action ‘Creativity Packs’ engaged 448
children between the ages of 3 and 5 with the ‘Sending a Smile Project’. All 12 pre-
schools involved had previously engaged with the mobile library project (pre COVID-
19). The aim of the project was to increase the childrens exposure to creativity through
oral language and stories, which included sending postcards to family and friends. To
enable this project, packs were disseminated which included locally commissioned
postcards, stamps, writing materials, and suitable hobby and story books.
20 | P a g eFigure 9: A postcard from Kilkenny LAs ‘Sending a Smile Project’
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and the lack of facilities available,
many of the activities took place online.
Waterford City and County Council explained that most participants were often based
in their homes, within the community or in outdoor spaces within 5km of their homes.
Similarly, the hosts and action providers were often based in similar situations, or
within a library or office setting.
Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, the organisations did manage to utilise 122 spaces
and places within the local authorities, in compliance with any restrictions in place at
the time.
Dublin City County Council utilised one space for their action ‘Glasshouse’, but it
proved a busy and valued space for participants. A glasshouse was installed in
Dublin’s north inner city to provide local residents a space to create, switch off and
learn new gardening skills. This action targeted those living in disadvantaged
communities, and 60 people living in the nearby housing complex engaged with and
accessed the space. The action has proved so successful, offering ‘a sanctuary’, that
it will be replicated in 4 other locations.
21 | P a g eDún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council utilised 6 places for their action ‘Festival in
a Van’, which engaged 150 people. The 6 locations included a community & senior
centre, a community service, 2 social housing units, a nursing home, and a resource
centre. Outdoor musical performances were provided at the six venues, despite the
weather. The action proved highly successful with many participants providing
feedback about the quality of the music and having the opportunity to hear and see
live music again.
“The rain did not stop us from coming outdoors to enjoy the
music performance, I cannot remember the last time I
danced in the rain.” - a participant of Dún-Laoghaire-Rathdown
‘Festival in a Van’.
Crafts
The Switching Off and Being Creative theme also encompassed a sub-theme ‘Crafts’,
which included an associated small grants scheme. The crafts initiatives and projects
collaboratively led by Kilkenny County Council, the National Design & Craft Gallery
(NDCG) and the Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) proved highly successful.
Approximately 1,000 people participated in home-based making
activity workshops, while another 4,000 people engaged with the
recorded online videos, a total reach of over 5,000 young people
and adults benefiting from the craft videos and talks. The 5,000
participants included people from all over the Island of Ireland,
and a number of people based within Europe.
Participants had 20 videos to engage with, which focused on illustrating skills,
materials and talent, in such forms as talks with DCCI Education Panel and festive
worksheets. The most successful video (video with the most hits) was a St Brigid's
Cross making video with over 1,000 YouTube hits.
22 | P a g eFigure 10: A still from Kilkenny County Council, NDCG & DCCIs tutorial video for making a St Brigid's Cross
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHQDBIl-5-w)
The Crafts initiative also received a high level of media attention, both nationally and
regionally in papers such as the Irish Independent and the Kilkenny people, with the
headline "Ireland’s craftspeople bring talents into homes to help during Covid
lockdown”.
Grants Scheme
The Craft initiative also comprised of the ‘small grants programme’ where Guilds,
Associations, Networks and Societies (GANS) across Ireland could apply for grants
for activities that aligned to the crafting theme.
Ten GANS were awarded a grant, with just over €28 thousand reported as spend.
There was a variety of creative initiatives carried out from felt to ‘painting’ to ‘Spoonys’
(characters created on wooden spoons by children), while patchwork and quilting was
a popular theme across the 10 projects. A full outline of the grant recipients and project
overviews is included in Appendix 3. The small grants projects were well received,
with direct participant numbers ranging from 10 participants to 250. One patch work
quilting initiative received 1,500 fabric ‘blocks’ from participants.
23 | P a g eStaying Connected (Community Call)
The aim of the Staying Connected (Community Call) theme was an expansion to the
befriending activities and the community call initiatives within the locality. The
befriending activities were diverse, creative, and focused primarily on older people.
However, some LAs opted to introduce actions targeting other vulnerable groups.
Figure 11: Map of ‘Staying Connected’ actions by County9
31 Local Authorities delivered
135 actions supporting the
Staying Connected theme
9The map is county based, the LA breakdown for Dublin is Dún-Laoghaire-Rathdown (4), Fingal (4),
South Dublin (1) and Dublin City (1). Cork has 1 city based and 4 county-based actions, while
Galway has 5 city based and 13 county-based actions.
24 | P a g eThe community call helpline operated within the LAs across Ireland and mainly
targeted older people or those who are vulnerable and aimed to reduce isolation and
loneliness. For the duration of the CRF, the LAs reported that 7,71210 calls were either
received or made by the community call helpline, supporting an estimated 3,984
individuals.
In addition to the work undertaken to facilitate the community call helpline, 893
befriending activities took place, benefitting an estimated 402,658 individuals. For
example, Offaly County Council in collaboration with Parents First and Offaly CYPSC
facilitated an action to support vulnerable parents of children aged 0 to 5 years, who
were isolated, suffering with loneliness, depression and/or the challenges of parenting.
Forty activities were completed as part of this action, which comprised of delivering 40
treasure baskets with play routines to 40 families. This action gave parents an
opportunity to discuss their child’s development and to support the parent child
relationship.
The community call helpline Nearly 900 befriending
supported close to 4,000 activities positively impacted
older, vulnerable, or an estimated 402,658
isolated individuals. individuals.
Wexford County Council implemented 1 activity for their action ‘Happy to Chat
Benches’, which comprised of installing 5 benches within phase one (one for each of
the five main towns) with phase 2 extending to two further locations. This idea started
in Cardiff in 2019 and its premise was simple; by sitting on the bench, you are
indicating you are open to engagement. Benches around the world carry the same
sign ‘Happy to Chat; Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello’. By
having this space available it was hoped this initiative would reduce loneliness and
10To note many of the LAs had a community call helpline in place before receiving the CRF, therefore
the number of calls received, and the number of individuals supported by the community call helpline
cannot be fully attributed to CRF.
25 | P a g eisolation. The benches complied with COVID-19 restrictions as each bench was 3
meters long which allowed people engage in a socially distanced way, also they had
a one armed designed to ensure wheelchair access.
The ‘Happy to Chat Benches’ received such a positive response
that another 2 benches will be installed, offering a suite of 9
benches across Wexford.
Figure 12: A ‘Happy to Chat Bench’ installed by Wexford LA
Many of the LAs used online and mailing campaigns to promote befriending activities
within the areas. For example, Monaghan County Council reported 8,500 individuals
were supported by their ‘Staying Connected’ action ‘Age Friendly Leaflets’. Two
leaflets were designed and distributed (the ‘Have You a Spare Chair’ and the ‘I Just
Called to Say’ leaflets). The purpose of the ‘Have you a spare chair’ leaflet was to
encourage people to check in on their older neighbour in the lead up to Christmas.
While the ‘I Just Called to Say’ leaflet encouraged the general public to reach out to
older people and offer a helping hand (e.g., collecting groceries or medication or help
in the garden etc.). Combined, both leaflets aimed to ensure older or vulnerable
members of the community stayed connected.
26 | P a g e3. Strand 2 CRF Actions
Funding of €1.05 million was awarded to two HIF Strand 2 organisations, funding a
total of 3 actions. Age Friendly Ireland implemented one action while the Local
Government Management Agency implemented two actions. The Strand 2 actions
continued to operate until December 2021 having been extended past the September
2021 deadline. Below is a summary of the actions and their key achievements over
the funding period.
Age Friendly Ireland
COVID Care Concerts
Age Friendly Ireland11 (AFI), were awarded the CRF for their COVID Care Concerts
action. This action was developed by Mobile Music Machine, with support from
Creative Ireland and the CRF.
Figure 13: Sandra Oman sings to residents in Co Wexford
The initiative involved some of Ireland’s finest classical musicians and opera singers
presenting live, outdoor socially distanced concerts in the gardens and grounds of
residential care homes and hospital settings across Ireland. The concerts were
11 Age Friendly Ireland was awarded funding through their Lead organisation Meath County Council
27 | P a g edelivered in four counties: Dublin, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford and 250 concerts
were delivered in total.
AFI experienced a consistently high level of demand for the
concerts and reported that there were noticeable improvements
in participant’s physical health, mood and mental health as well
as reduced stress and a decreased sense of pain.
The concerts impacted upon some of the most vulnerable and isolated members of
Irish society; those residing in care homes and hospital settings. In total 16,940
residents benefitted from this initiative in addition to approximately 1,500 to 2,000 staff
and family members. Below is a sample of the feedback AFI received from attendees
of the events. Additionally, this action provided employment opportunities to over 60
professional musicians at a time when all other work was not possible due to
restrictions on live music and travel.
“Great; I never saw ye before, but I knew a lot of the tunes,
and even more to the point, “Brilliant…brilliant!” – Resident,
Kerry Nursing Home.
“I was so happy, the nicest show I have enjoyed for a long
time” – Resident (RTE Interview).
“The positive effect that music has on the staff and residents
alike was apparent when she added: “It was emotional to see
the residents singing along to the Rose of Tralee.” – Staff
Member, Tralee Nursing Home.
28 | P a g eHowever, this action was not without its challenges. COVID-19 outbreaks and changes
to restrictions required a lot of time to make contact and create schedules due to
understaffing in the homes, however this improved as time went on by liaising directly
with the facilities to ensure the current safety guidelines were adhered to. As the
concerts were mainly held outdoors (during the most stringent restrictions), the
weather often hampered the project and creative solutions were employed to
overcome adverse conditions, with some concerts continuing through heavy rain and
winds, and even during the snow.
Figure 14: Ballymahon Day Centre, Longford – 17th May 2021
29 | P a g eLocal Government Management Agency (LGMA)
Grow It Forward
The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) in partnership with GIY (Grow
It Yourself) and the public Library Network implemented the Grow It Forward initiative.
This action supported participants, both young and old to grow food from February to
September 2021. The aim was to get participants outside; to engage in some physical
activity, grow food, and develop an understanding of the connection between our
health and the food we eat. Participants registered for the programme and their Grow
It Forward kits through their local library or online.
50,000 Grow It Forward kits 95% said they would
were distributed continue growing
In March 2021 a webpage to promote the project was launched reaching 220,000
people on the first day, with 11.9M people reached over the course of the campaign.
A total of 50,000 Grow It Forward kits were distributed through the webpage and local
libraries, while a Grow It Forward ambassador kit was sent to 30 library headquarters
across the country.
Figure 15: A promotional photo from the Grow it Yourself campaign
30 | P a g eLGMA issued a survey to a sample of 1,685 recipients and of the 1,495 responses
received 100% had sowed their seeds at the time of survey. 82% of those surveyed
shared something (seeds, seedlings or vegetables) with someone, 71% grew
vegetables to harvest, 24% grew vegetables to seedlings only and 5% sowed seeds
only. In addition, 95% of those surveyed said that they would continue growing.
“The Grow It Forward campaign got me through the hardest
year of my life. I’m so grateful for it. I finally had a purpose
on the hard days, and once you’re out of bed it’s easier to
find joy, so thank you very much” – Molly K, 17 years of age.
“Growing can be a very solitary activity. But GROW it
Forward helped us to build a community of growers who
share seeds, plants, advice and produce. I have met people
in my community with a shared interest who I never knew
before!” – Gareth K, Co Monaghan.
The Grow It Forward campaign achieved a 99.9% positive sentiment on social media,
which demonstrated its popularity with the general public, and it achieved a 20% rate
of engagement i.e., 20% of people who saw the campaign actively engaged with it.
In addition, the long term and sharing aspects of Grow It Forward ensured that:
87% of participants shared part of the GIF experience with
an average of 4.35 people.
90% agreed that their knowledge of food growing has
increased after their participation in the campaign.
77% of people who rated their mental health as very poor
at Survey 1 agreed that the campaign had a positive impact
on their mental health.
31 | P a g eWhile challenges were experienced throughout the project lifecycle these were quickly
resolved to ensure the success of the campaign.
Library buildings were completely closed due to national restrictions at the time
of the intended launch (March 2021). This required a change to the distribution
approach to postage.
There was larger than expected demand, with the 25,000 kits available through
the GIY website fully subscribed for within 3 days. Through effective
communication, all recipients were aware of when their kits would arrive in the
post.
Sustained lockdown restrictions limited the participants ability to share their
growing with others, but this was mitigated by a campaign encouraging safe
sharing in their neighbourhood.
Figure 16: A pizza garden created by students Source: Twitter
32 | P a g eIreland Reads
The Libraries Development Unit of the LGMA managed the Ireland Reads programme,
which was also supported by the Healthy Ireland Fund. This initiative focused on
reading for pleasure, escape, mental stimulation and wellbeing, and on sharing the
experience and joys of reading with family, friends, book-clubs, or online. The Ireland
Reads campaign ran throughout February 2021, leading up to Ireland Reads Day on
25 February. The campaign ran across a range of marketing channels and was
promoted by libraries nationwide with resources available across the 330 library
branches.
330 libraries and approx. 900,000 minutes of reading
9,500 individuals were pledged for Ireland
participated in the Reads Day on February 25th
Ireland Reads campaign
The initiative aimed to encourage reading as a positive activity for wellbeing during
COVID-19, and to increase awareness of the Ireland Reads website and Borrowbox,
an app which allows people to borrow e-books and audiobooks from libraries. People
were encouraged to pledge to read on February 25th and to share their reading
experiences.
Figure 17: A promotional image from the Ireland Reads campaign
33 | P a g eThe initiative proved successful with 49,592 visits to the Ireland
Reads website during February, with 9,474 people pledging
more than 900,000 minutes of reading on Ireland Reads Day,
exceeding the initial target of 90,000 minutes. In addition, the
number of new users of the Borrowbox app increased by 56%
during the campaign compared to the same period in the
previous year.
Libraries nationwide ran events as part of the campaign, including three national
events which 1,200 people booked to attend. The campaign generated national media
coverage and the hashtag ‘#IrelandReads’ was trending on social media. Strong
regional media coverage was also achieved, driven by libraries and local authorities.
The project did experience some challenges, mainly due to a tight timeframe and
delivery of a high-profile national event amid COVID-19 restrictions. Libraries and
bookshops were closed during the period of the campaign which limited the ability to
engage with the bookselling community and the wider public.
34 | P a g e4. Challenges
There were several challenges faced by organisations when implementing actions with
the most referenced issue being the COVID-19 pandemic12.
In total just under a third (31%) of all challenges described by
organisations were related to or caused by COVID-19.
The main issue arising from the pandemic, which has been repeated by many
organisations, has been the lack of in-person meetings due to travel restrictions. This
resulted in organisations having to cancel or postpone actions or move to an online
version. Moving activities online has been the most common solution to a lack of in-
person events, however this solution faced issues such as ‘online fatigue’ whereby
some people had dropped out of online events as they found it difficult to be online.
Unfortunately moving actions and activities online was not always appropriate, for
example, the objective of one of Kilkenny County Councils actions was to ‘switch off
devices and get outdoors’.
As a result of the length of time the COVID-19 restrictions were in place for many
organisations had to re-design their actions several times to ensure compliance with
the restrictions in place.
“Actions had to be redesigned on a number of occasions to
be within the Government guidelines for Covid. This also at
times brought up a challenge in terms of people being able
to engage or participate as they may not have been
comfortable with online programmes.” - Waterford City &
County Council
The COVID-19 lockdowns have also posed other challenges. In at least one case
actions had been affected by the closure of a business and staff shortages have also
hampered service delivery.
12 50 of the 160 reported challenges were related to COVID-19
35 | P a g eTechnical solutions and new ways of working have been
employed as organisations adapted and in a small number of
cases, they reported that these solutions did provide an
opportunity for participants to engage with a programme of
events who may otherwise may not have attended in person.
Time constraints were the second most common challenge, a number of organisations
felt that developing and implementing some of the interventions under the CRF was
quite difficult given the short timeframe of the programme. The restrictions on
movement, lack of venues and staffing issues impacted on the time available to deliver
actions. However, there was a recognition from organisations about the programme
extension from March to June 2021, and an appreciation from some in relation to the
simpler reporting process for this fund as compared to HIF.
Several capacity challenges were highlighted by organisations,
in particular the competing demands of administering core
programmes and additional government grants while
implementing the CRF. Other issues included having a high
demand for the service and not having capacity to meet it and
the ability of beneficiaries to utilise technology.
Action delivery was also affected by external factors. In one case the supply of material
ordered from the UK by Irish library suppliers was seriously delayed by BREXIT.
Changes by Revenue to criteria for the employment of tutors, whether they are
employed under a contract of service (direct employee) or contract for service (self-
employed) was given as an issue with employing some staff. The cyber-attack carried
out on the HSE had also affected three organisations, reducing their ability to
communicate through emails and delaying collaborative working arrangements.
36 | P a g e5. Conclusion
The CRF was used to ensure supports were available throughout the country to the
most vulnerable, during what was a particularly challenging, lonely and confusing time
for many. The success of the CRF actions was noted by the participants positive
feedback, the very high levels of engagement across the country and the volume of
actions which were implemented to cater to peoples interests and target those most
vulnerable.
As the actions were tailored and attuned to people’s needs, this resulted in a large
uptake of actions across the Country, as evidenced in the output numbers reported for
the actions, which demonstrate the reach of the fund.
5,814 young people were 225,793 people were
directly engaged with under reached through the Your
the Minding your Mood theme County actions
321,097 people were
402,658 people were
reached through the
reached through the
Switching off and being
befriending activities
Creative actions
5,000 young people and 16,940 care home
adults benefited from the residents benefitted from
Craft videos and talks COVID Care Concerts
37 | P a g eThrough the CRF many vulnerable populations, especially older
people and those living alone were able to access key supports
and services which would have been otherwise unavailable.
However, implementing the fund was challenging for the organisations.
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 and its associated and extended restrictions negatively
impacted on the delivery of the fund. This required a reflexive and creative response
from the organisations to ensure they could deliver meaningful actions which complied
with the restrictions.
In addition, organisations reported that the timeframe for implementing the fund was
very tight, even with the three-month extension given13. This was compressed by the
restrictions on movements, lack of venues and staffing issues. Organisations were
also administering this fund in tandem with the HIF, which raised issues of competing
demands in administering the programmes at the same time. In order to alleviate some
of the arising challenges, the programme framework was flexible, which was
recognised by many organisations. The organisations had the capacity to change,
adapt, remove, or add new actions in response to the changing operational
environment. There was also a recognition and appreciation from many organisations
of the simpler application process and reporting structure for CRF compared to HIF.
Despite these issues, the CRF was delivered successfully during
a very challenging time. The fund was reactive and responsive
to the needs of individuals and communities, by preparing,
delivering, and targeting initiatives concurrent with the unfolding
pandemic, extended lockdown and associated restrictions. The
short timeframe and prompt response by organisations to
implement actions demonstrated how the rapid activation of
varying supports, one of the key operating principles of the CRF,
can help strengthen community well-being and resilience.
13 Stand 1 was extended from March to June 2021 and Strand 2 from September to December 2021.
38 | P a g e6. Appendices
Appendix 1: All actions by CRF theme and LA/ CYPSC area
Local Authority /
CRF Theme Action Title
CYPSC Area
Carlow County Minding your Mood Young Voices
Carlow County Minding your Mood Art Therapy
Carlow County Staying Connected (Community Call) Bubble Buddy Community Engagement
Carlow County Staying Connected (Community Call) Community Activators
Carlow County Staying Connected (Community Call) Virtual Fitness Programme Connect FIt
Carlow County Staying Connected (Community Call) Digital Connectivity
Carlow County Switching Off and Being Creative Creative Photography
Carlow County Switching Off and Being Creative Schools Library Ninja Challenge
Carlow County Your County Household Furniture Scheme - Be Kind
Carlow County Your County HI Hours
Carlow County Your County Media/Radio
Carlow County Your County CRF Mobile Music Machine
Carlow County Your County HI Keep Well Signage
Cavan County Minding your Mood Detached Outreach
Cavan County Minding your Mood Alternative Learning Programme
Cavan County Staying Connected (Community Call) Family Carers Respite Project
Cavan County Staying Connected (Community Call) Advertisement and promotion of local supports and services available in the county
Cavan County Staying Connected (Community Call) Keep well radio campaign
Equipment (e.g. laptops and phones) to expand) the Good Morning Befriending
Cavan County Staying Connected (Community Call)
services
Cavan County Switching Off and Being Creative One Book, One County
Cavan County Switching Off and Being Creative 'Where We Belong' Video
Cavan County Switching Off and Being Creative Storytelling
39 | P a g eLocal Authority /
CRF Theme Action Title
CYPSC Area
Cavan County Switching Off and Being Creative Libraries Looking after your Wellbeing
Cavan County Your County Keep well Radio Campaign
Cavan County Your County Christmas Packs/Goody Bags for Older People.
Cavan County Your County Bridging the Digital Divide
Cavan County Your County Christmas Packs/Goody Bags for Older People.
Cavan County Your County Bridging the Digital Divide
Clare County Minding your Mood Heads Up Clare
Clare County Staying Connected (Community Call) Clare COVID-19 Community Response Helpline
Clare County Staying Connected (Community Call) Community Response Leaflet
Clare County Staying Connected (Community Call) Befriending Service
Clare County Staying Connected (Community Call) Senior smartphone project for older people
Clare County Staying Connected (Community Call) Digital Nursing Home Initiative
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Peer booklets Creation and Distribution
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Christmas Upcycling Challenge
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Here Comes the Sun Project
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative From a Distance Concert Series for Cultural Companions
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Clare Garden Festival Webinar Series
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative The Book of Hope
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Azure On-line Art Tours
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Stone Mad Rock Art
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Lean ar Aghaidh Project
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Shining Path - 12 O Clock Hills
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Clare Reads
Biodiversity Campaign Clare Apple Tree Planting Project / Biodiversity awareness
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative
campaign
Clare County Switching Off and Being Creative Daoine agus Áit: Connecting Our Communities
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