13 Apr 2005

Community and Social Services Responses to Asylum Seekers - Conference

The arrival of asylum seekers to Ireland has challenged the conceptualisation and the provision of community and social services to this diverse group of people. Responding to the needs of asylum seekers has forced decision makers and service providers to think beyond traditional models of service provision. This challenge is already bringing about innovative developments in service delivery and will, no doubt, lead to many other initiatives in 2005 and beyond.   On 15 April a conference, which will examine the implications of this new service user group for the profile and delivery of community and social services, will take place at UCC.  Services responses to this group of users will be examined as will best practice initiatives in Ireland and elsewhere.

The conference is a joint initiative between the Department of Applied Social Studies (UCC) and the Health Service Executive (Southern Area).

Speakers include:

• Dr Avril Butler, University of Plymouth and START
• Professor Alastair Christie, Applied Social Studies, UCC
• Dr Pauline Conroy
• Alvina Grosu, Psychologist, Chair of Immigrant Voice, Member of the Ethnic Minority Health Forum and an Asylum seeker.
• Dr Beth Humphries, Lancaster University
• Liberty Street House, Services for Young People out of Home
• Dr Ciara Mc Veele, Project Director, General Practice in a Multicultural Society. Irish College of General Practitioners
• Alex McClean, Teresa Gyoh & Fionnuala Foley, Galway City and County ChildCare Committee
• Peter O'Mahony, Irish Refugee Council
• Dr Patrick O Sullivan Senior Examining Physician to Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture (CSST), SPIRASI
• NASC, Irish Immigrant Support Centre
• Mr Fintan O'Toole, Columnist and Broadcaster
• Tom Ryan, Health Service Executive (Southern Area)
• Dr Angela Veale, Applied Psychology, UCC
• Dr Karen Wren, Research Fellow Research fellow, University of Aberdeen.

See http://www.ucc.ie/acad/appsoc/guests.htm

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