Carrosyl Community Centre, Lisnaskea RMG99
IT’S BEEN all go in Lisnaskea over the summer where the Carrosyl Community Association has just finished up another busy season of summer schemes and youth programmes and are getting ready to restart again in September.
The association operates to improve the quality of life for all residents of Carrowshee Park and Sylvan Hill and to make the area a better place to live, by offering members of the community activities which they can enjoy.
Kathleen Breen has been at the forefront of the Carrosyl Community Association and tries to ensure that all the needs of the community are catered for.
“For the kids we have the homework club on a Monday and Wednesday, where they have a snack and do their homework and if they have time to spare they can go outside and play. Our centre holds children activities but we do have a few activities for older people too.
“We have computer classes two nights a week and we have the Monday morning club where they can take part in classes, go for trips, walks and different activities. We also provide a hamper for the older people over 60 at Christmas time, just to let them know that we acknowledge them and think on them.”
The programme continues to expand and grow in popularity each year. There are almost 600 people in the area which the centre operates from and it is widely attended by those in the housing estates. Youth worker, Jackie Mullan is the centre’s only paid worker and has greatly enhanced the services provided. The association is run by volunteers who generously donate their time to help the running of the programme.
“We depend a lot on volunteers. It is a big commitment to make to dedicate time to helping out at the programmes. We would love to be able to expand but we would have to go into it in a bigger way, probably as a social enterprise where we would have to fund the programmes ourselves. I would also be scared that the centre would lose it’s friendliness if we did expand,” explained Kathleen Breen.
Since the Carrosyl Community Association was first set up the programmes on offer have given the local community in the area the opportunity to make friends and take part in fun activities. The programmes offered has also benefited the Carrowshee Park and Sylvan Hill area of Lisnaskea as anti-social behaviour in the area has decreased.
“We pride ourselves in the area as the antisocial behaviour has definitely reduced in the last three years. We have our teenagers scheme in the summer time and we hold the activities at a time when there is a chance that they could be out getting up to rascality.
“Some of the young people who have been involved with the youth club want to go on and become leaders in the centre so that is great for their CV and their maturity too. We had 16 young volunteers helping in the summer scheme and only for them we would not have been able to offer the services that we did.”
As the schools reopen, Carrosyl Community Association get ready for another busy year ahead, serving the community and enhancing the lives of the residents of the Carrowshee Park and Sylvan Hill area.
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