TIGLIN Newsletter (DEC 2020) v9 HQ

Empowering
PEOPLE
A word from the CEO
Empowering people who have
been heavily disempowered
due to the incapacitating grip
of addiction and the stigma of
homelessness is what Tiglin
continually aims to do.
The daily investment of the loyal and
dedicated staff who work with Tiglin points
people in the right direction in order to restore
what has been eaten away by these powerful,
marginalising forces. As 2020 brought
many unforeseen challenges for us all, we
remained focused on who we are and what
we do in order not to suffer from “mission
drift”. Some of the highlights from 2020
took place with the help, input and support
of many willing parties. One such event was
held at Tiglin men’s centre in February this
year. In the run up to the General Election
2020, Tiglin invited all those running for
election in the constituency of Wicklow to
attend an evening hosted by Tiglin’s own
“Vincent Browne”, Mr Aubrey McCarthy!
Speaking on the night among many others
was the newly elected Minister for Health,
Stephen Donnelly who called Tiglin “A
hidden miracle” and pledged his ongoing
support should he be elected. The purpose
of this evening was to encourage those in our
care to use their democratic right to vote as
a privilege that can shape the world around
them. Reconnecting people with their voice
and giving them the confidence and sense of
purpose to use it is what much of resilient
recovery is about.
Continued from page 1
In Tiglin we have found that many
of the students have had limited
educational opportunities in life and
that addiction and Circumstances
have somewhat disabled their chances
to advance in Life. During the past
few years our staff have been working
with Board member Susan Philips
to change this situation. Thomas
Jefferson said “Education is the
passport to the future, for tomorrow
belongs to those who prepare for it
today. The real education is the one
that will set you free.”
2
Another loyal group of willing parties
investing in the recovery capital of those in
Tiglin are education and training providers
such as IT Carlow, KWETB and An Cosan.
2020 has seen the return of investment
for many residents and staff of Tiglin. In
typical 2020 style, we had a very COVID
friendly, socially distant virtual IT Carlow
graduation for 19 people who have also
graduated from Tiglin and 13 staff members.
The expansion of opportunities that stem
from the investment of time, energy and
money into education adds great value and
strengthens recovery capital.
While we have seen many cracks of light in
a challenging and often dark year, we have
also been very aware of the great threat
that COVID-19 has been. As we have
interfaced with this pandemic, we at Tiglin
have remained open while many others had
to close. For many months, as COVID-19
restricted people and insisted we remain
indoors, this resulted in many losing out at
accessing addiction treatment.
The concepts of social distancing and
isolation might be phrases embedded into
our vocabulary because of 2020, but they are
not new concepts for many of Tiglin’s clients
who have experienced life on the margins,
Kevin Burke, Phil Thompson CEO, & Jay Bobiniac
Today at Tiglin the management and
staff are excited about the educational
opportunities that are now available
to our students. We also are offering
our educational programmes to those
on our Community Employment
programmes. Recently one of the
individuals who a few years ago came
to our homeless outreach graduated
with Tiglin staff members with a
Level 8 in social care and now we
have supported him in enrolling in
a Masters degree. Such progress is
ground-breaking for an individual
due to homelessness and addiction for a great
deal of their lives. As we have tailored our
services to adapt to the changing climate,
Tiglin have experienced over 400% of an
increase in demand from those looking for
help as they reached through our website. In
the face of this unpreceded demand for our
Tiglin have experienced over
400% of an increase in demand
from those looking for help
as they reached through
our website. In the face of
this unpreceded demand for
our services we have also
experienced a drop of 70% in
fundraising activities.
services we have also experienced a drop of
70% in fundraising activities. I hope that
this newsletter encourages you to see that
while life is currently a struggle for many, we
have witnessed many people experience true
freedom even as the world has been restricted
by lock downs.
Phil Thompson
CEO
and shows the individual that “they
can do it”.