Newsletter Archives

Fostering relationships and inclusion: A story of love, support and community

Posted on July 18, 2025July 18, 2025 by Katharina Mullen

Meet Lorraine and Dennis, who first crossed paths seven years ago. Like any couple, they share inside jokes, support each other through challenging days, and dream about their future together. What makes their story special is how our team at Forge Park (Kerry Disability Service) has supported them individually and as a couple, helping them build the skills and confidence needed to live fulfilled lives and maintain a thriving relationship.

The team at Forge Park remains committed to providing continued support for Lorraine and Dennis’s relationship, ensuring they both experience a meaningful and fulfilling partnership. We understand that relationships can present unique challenges for individuals, requiring patience, understanding, and support approaches.

Building Individual Identities within Partnership

Supporting Lorraine and Dennis involves giving respect, communicating clearly and patiently, and providing empowerment-focused assistance that helps them build strong individual identities within their relationship. While Dennis lives in the community and receives individual support from NOVAS, he spends weekends with Lorraine at her residential home in Forge Park.

Both partners regularly communicate their needs to their keyworkers, who help them navigate various relationship situations. When weekend visits presented some challenges due to their unique individual needs, our team worked collaboratively with the couple to explore their wants and requirements in a supportive environment where questions and concerns were always welcome.

Creating Solution Together

Through open dialogue and careful planning, we developed strategies to help both Lorraine and Dennis better manage their shared weekend time. This included important work around boundaries and consent—fundamental aspects of any healthy relationship.

Dennis brings his love of walks, conversations, radio, and gardening to the relationship, along with his wonderful sense of humour and hearty laugh. Lorraine values her privacy and has a passion for music and dancing. She takes pride in styling her own hair and has a particular fondness for anything in baby pink. Together, they enjoy sharing drinks and takeaways during their weekend time.

Combating Loneliness through Connection

Investing in their relationship addresses a significant challenge facing many people of our services: loneliness. This partnership has a profound positive impact on both individuals’ mental health, social connections, and overall quality of life.

Recently, Lorraine and Dennis celebrated Lorraine’s birthday—a truly special day that highlighted the joy their relationship brings to their lives. Looking ahead, they’re excited about upcoming “date days,” a new initiative we’re introducing to facilitate healthy relationship development through community engagement.

Abdulaziz’ Story – Street Outreach Volunteer

Posted on July 16, 2025July 31, 2025 by Katharina Mullen

I started volunteering with the Street Outreach Team during my college work placement with NOVAS and have continued to volunteer as well as working full time with NOVAS in McGarry House as a project worker.

I have always had a passion for helping vulnerable people. During my placement with NOVAS, I saw first-hand the difference that support can make for someone in crisis. It was this experience that inspired me to continue volunteering for my community.

I believe that every person deserves dignity, compassion and support, especially during difficult times.

A typical night as street outreach volunteer starts at Brother Russell House, where a volunteer driver brings the outreach van to our meeting point on William Street. We prepare hot meals and drinks before people begin to arrive.

There is normally a big turnout. We serve dinners donated from Greenhills Hotel or other donors, along with bags of fruit, sandwiches, soup and bread, and flasks of tea and coffee. We also take time to talk to people. Clients often build strong relationships with us as volunteers and staff. They begin to trust us and feel safe confiding in us. It’s quite common for people to open up about struggles they’re facing with their mental health.

One experience that stands out to me was when we helped a man who had been sleeping rough for weeks during the freezing weather. He had lost contact with his family and didn’t have any ID or access to support services in Limerick.

That night we gave him hot food and a sleeping bag. Over time we supported him in reconnecting with services and securing emergency accommodation through NOVAS.

It was a powerful reminder of how vital these outreach efforts are for people in extremely vulnerable situations.

We currently need a new van. The van is essential for transporting food and supplies, but it is becoming unreliable. At times it won’t even start.

The van is also quite cramped, especially when we are carrying a full load of food and equipment. A larger van would allow us to transport more supplies, serve more people, and work more efficiently, particularly during bad weather or on very busy nights.

NOVAS help a lot of people through their work and I wanted to be a part of it.

I have recently accepted a place on the Community and Addiction Studies – BA (Hons), Level 8 degree at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). I will begin my studies this September. While pursuing my degree, I will continue working and volunteering with NOVAS. I am proud to stay involved with the community and support those experiencing homelessness.

Ger’s Story – Street Outreach Volunteer

Posted on May 14, 2025June 20, 2025 by novas-admin

Having grown up in a sports mad city like Limerick in the 70s and 80s and especially being reared at the top of Garryowen Green I always felt well plugged into the heartbeat of life around the place. Living in the shadow of St John’s Cathedral there was always something going on and interaction with people of all walks of life was common as each day we bumped into residents of St Joseph’s Hospital where my father worked or indeed passing the prison which was a high security unit during that time. My mother was a darling and many is the meal she provided for those in need of it, thus showing us how charity and decency began at home.

That local upbringing when times were so much simpler and uncomplicated definitely introduced me to the fact that life can be kind to some and less kind to others through no fault of their own such as losing a job, marriage breakdown, alcohol issues and so many other reasons.

I always wanted to give something back and through a contact Donal O Carroll, I was introduced to an organisation called NOVAS that do so much wonderful work in being there for those down on their luck.

NOVAS do buckets of good work but the area I helped out with was the Street Outreach Programme or soup run as its better known. It does exactly what it says on the tin and delivers a hot meal and drink for clients who come from across society 365 days a year. I usually drive the bus with a volunteer and along the way we pick up grub from local businesses who are happy to extend the hand of friendship quietly (The Greenhills, Hook & Ladder and Noms) and this is then distributed with a smile at the top of William St each evening around 7pm. The whole exercise between picking up the NOVAS Van to distribution is around an hour maybe an hour and a half at most and all us volunteers find it hugely rewarding.

The other area we help out is with the temporary shelters on Edward St where clients have overnight accommodation which means a good hot meal, a shower and a night rest after being on the streets all day which must be desperate difficult. Again this whole exercise takes no longer than an hour so not a huge drain on volunteer time.

One of the things I most admire about all the volunteers and staff of NOVAS is that everything is done in a quiet, non-judgemental manner. All clients who show up at the various service outlets are treated with total respect and enjoy the chat and banter with volunteers who they get to know over time.

A pleasure to be involved, be it only in a small way and delighted and thankful to NOVAS for providing the opportunity.

Ger Hegarty

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