Time 4 Us Website Launched
A new website, www.time4us.ie, was launched this week to highlight a unique centre where children can meet parents for access visits in Galway City. With over 7,500 single parent families in Galway, Time 4 Us provides a comfortable, neutral setting. It is a play centre where children meet with their parents in situations where one parent does not live in the family home. It caters for children of all ages, from babies to teenagers. An average of thirty families a week avail of the services of Time 4 Us.
During the launch, solicitors and mediators and other professionals were invited to tour the facility and to view the supports and facilities available at Time 4 Us. Damhnait McLaughlin, Solicitor with the Galway Collaborative Law Practitioners (GCLP) said that “launching the website www.time4us.ie is the next step in promoting a unique service that has been a very important resource for some families I have worked with. It plays an important role in fostering family relationships so that less cases in relation to access end up in conflict with families having to resort to the legal system and the Courts as a result. Instead parents are encouraged and supported to nurture relationships between each other and their children and Time 4 Us facilitates this process.”
Child-friendly facilities are available at Time 4 Us to help children make the most of the limited time they have with their parent, like a space for homework, arts and crafts and cooking. There are also games and activities as well as books and toys suitable for children of various ages.
Darren Mulligan, Time 4 Us Project Leader is confident that “the website will help parents to learn about Time 4 Us, giving them confidence to contact us to avail of supports. It’s a great resource for parents who want to keep up to date with relevant information and news.”
NUIG Child and Family Research Centre evaluated the Time 4 Us project in 2008. The evaluation found: improved bonding and a better relationship between child and parent; reduced conflict, improved trust and improved communication between parents; increased access time; improved behaviour in children and better performance at school. Participation in the Time 4 Us service has also resulted in fewer access cases going to court.
Time 4 Us is the result of a partnership between the public and private sectors including the HSE, the Department of Social Protection, Galway City & County Childcare Committee and Galway Businesses. Learn more at www.time4us.ie, call 091-860018 or email info@time4us.ie.
ENDS
Notes to editors about Time 4 Us
There are over 7,500 one-parent families in Galway. Time 4 Us is a play centre for children to meet with their parents in situations where one parent does not live in the family home. It caters for children of all ages from babies to teenagers and is managed and funded by a partnership of agencies in Galway that support families.
Time 4 Us is a free service, open to any family where one parent lives outside the home, and aimed at ensuring parents and children can make the best of the access time they have. Children in foster care can also avail of the service to meet their parents and brothers and sisters.
Range of facilities offered:
- Games and activities for children from babies to teenagers
- Kitchen & Cooking
- Books & Toys
- Facilities to do homework
Contact: Darren Mulligan, Time 4 Us Project Leader at 091 860018 or info@time4us.ie
GCLP Attends Mii Conference
Last weekend the 14th of November 2009 members of the GCLP attended the annual Mediator’s Institute of Ireland conference in Dublin. Many members of the MII are also collaborative law practitioners. It was an opportunity to catch up with Eamonn Carroll and Anne O’ Neill from Cork who visited the GCLP recently to provide a talk on collaborative practice in Cork.
Collaborative law is rapidly becoming the most efficient way of resolving contentious family law disputes in a cost effective manner. The GCLP established many new connections with leading family ADR experts at the conference.