The Disability Participation and Awareness Fund 2024
Leading urgent change for people with disabilities.
The Disability Participation and Awareness Fund 2024 is a €2.4 million, 1-year fund created in partnership with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). The fund supports 14 change-making non-profit organisations focused on supporting people with disabilities to participate in community life.
The goal of the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund 2024 is to support innovative projects or organisations across Ireland to:
- Enhance community, social, cultural and physical participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life,
- Promote disability awareness and training for people with disabilities at the local level, and
- Promote innovation in supports and pathways for teenagers transitioning from secondary school through the use of innovative and meaningful services, products or programmes.
Awardees
The three strands of this fund support projects or organisations working directly with people with disabilities.
Strand 1 - Supporting community, social, cultural and physical participation for persons with disabilities.
AsIAm
Adult Support & Wellbeing Programme
AsIAm
AsIAm is Ireland’s Autism Charity, founded in 2014. We are here to provide evidence-based advice, resourcess, and guidance that the community can trust. Alongside this, we endeavour to make Irish society a more inclusive and accepting place, where Autistic people have the same chance. Our Adult Support, Employment and Well-Being Department endeavours to give the same chance to our adult population by introducing 5 new regional in-person gatherings and growing existings groups by 30%.
Independent Living Movement Ireland
Engaging Disabled People in Direct Provision
Independent Living Movement Ireland
Created by ILMI, this project will see twenty disabled people in direct provision supported through the provision of technology and disability equality training supported to disabled people and to connect to local services. Disabled people face structural barriers to their active participation in society and disabled people in direct provision face additional barriers to their participation in Irish society. Through peer connection disabled people provision will connect with other disabled people on how . Training provided will also give participants the knowledge and confidence to access mainstream training, education, employment and social inclusion supports in their areas, as well ensuring that their voices are heard in ILMI’s work to develop local Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs).
Baboró International Arts Festival for Children
Baboró Creative Sensory School Workshops
Baboró International Arts Festival for Children
Baboró International Arts Festival for Children is dedicated to making the arts accessible to all, particularly children from marginalised or underserved communities and those with disabilities. Baboró Creative Sensory Sessions are designed especially for children with complex needs, ensuring their individual needs and interests are met, thus removing barriers to access for even the most vulnerable children in the West.
The Down Syndrome Centre
Together Academy - Therapeutic Supports Project
The Down Syndrome Centre
From the age of 21, a young adult is accepted into the Together Academy. The programme offers a core 2-year training programme as well as an Accelerator programme to fast track students into employment. The core offering is a 2-year part-time course in Employability Skills with a Culinary element, funded through the DDLETB. The classroom learning is complemented by the Together Cafe where the students put their theory into practice. Following training, the Pathways to Employment team facilitates placement of the students with partner organisations, initially for work experience but with the goal of eventual paid employment. The Therapeutic Supports project will complement the Pathways programme, helping students reach their full potential through targeted individual and group interventions. The project will target a range of key areas including but not limited to: productivity enhancement, prioritising self-care, accessing the community safely, sleep hygiene and mental health supports.
Migrant Health Alliance Ireland
Disability Through My Lens: A photovoice project
Migrant Health Alliance Ireland
Through networks and outreach awareness campaigns, MHAI will invite people from the migrant community in Ireland who have various physical and intellectual disabilities and families/carers of children with disabilities to participate in the Disability Through My Lens Photovoice Project. Participants will show their photographs and explain why they took them, receiving feedback from others in the group about how their pictures strike them, whether they bring up ideas or feelings, and how the photo speaks to the viewer. Group sessions will also include drama and movement activities to build relationships between participants. Capacity building educational sessions will involve the migrant community and the public, as well as engaging with existing disability organisations to educational and support purposes
The Crann Centre
Participation Opportunities 2.0
The Crann Centre
At the Crann Centre we provide a range of unique services and supports for children, adults and families living with neuro-physical disabilities through our 2Gen approach. The 2Gen approach recognises that children and adults with disabilities live in families and for them to enjoy improved health & wellbeing and increased opportunities for participation in society the whole family needs to be supported. Participation Opportunities 2.0 is an ambitious programme of recreation, arts, peer support, learning and social connectedness including music, theatre, performance, exercise, free play, adapted physical activity, cookery and baking and relaxation. This evolving programme provides children, adults and families with opportunities to participate, feel supported and experience the joy of spending time together and having fun in a fully accessible indoor and outdoor recreation settings.
ChildVision
EAA National Programme
ChildVision
The Equine Team at ChildVision aims to make equine assisted activities accessible for children with disabilities throughout Ireland. ChildVision’s equine team, in partnership with Rethink, will do this by delivering specific disability awareness training to existing Riding Instructors, developing an online database for parents to access equine assisted activities in their community and by engaging in research to promote the benefits of equine assisted activities.
Strand 2 - Promoting disability awareness and training.
NOW Training and Employment Enterprise
JAM Card Awareness Training
NOW Training and Employment Enterprise
NOW Group’s JAM Card is a discreet and easy tool for telling others that you need “Just A Minute’ in any scenario. Originally developed by people with learning difficulties, the JAM Card and the App have now evolved to include anyone with a hidden disability or communication barrier. We will provide online JAM awareness training to 100 organisations to deliver best practices in customer service for people with communication barriers.
National Platform of Self Advocates
National Platform of Self Advocates
The National Platform of Self-Advocates is founded on the rights of people with intellectual disabilities to be included as equal citizens with rights as outlined in the UNCRPD. We are the nationally recognised spokes-organisation on policy and issues affecting the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Our members participate in local, regional, national and EU policy making, aiming to make public decision-making more accessible. We connect local and regional self-advocacy groups highlighting the lived experience of disability.
Irish Deaf Society
Deaf Awareness Training and Resource Development
Irish Deaf Society
An initiative of the Irish Deaf Society, the project will address two significant challenges faced by Deaf people; lack of Deaf awareness and inadequate ISL resources. We will provide free Deaf Awareness workshops, as well as developing a Deaf awareness online platform enabling ongoing development and engagement. A significant part of this project is the development of an English to ISL Dictionary, a resource that has been long-needed by the Deaf community.
Vision Ireland
Disability Awareness Training at The Wayfinding Centre
Vision Ireland
The Wayfinding Centre is an innovative and multi-functional transport training centre which is driven by the need to make transport accessible for everyone. Our objective is two-fold, to provide training opportunities which empower people with disabilities to deliver awareness training and to increase knowledge of transport and built environment professionals so that they have the know how to provide assistance, design inclusive services and environments. We realise that the centre is not the answer for all of the existing barriers that that stop people with disabilities from freely accessing the community and completing journeys, but it is a catalyst which challenges the status quo and seeks collaboration from all stakeholders to improve the accessibility of transport in Ireland.
Thriving Autistic
Social Participation for Autistic Adults
Thriving Autistic
Thriving Autistic is a pioneering organisation led by and for autistic adults, dedicated to advancing disability rights and empowering the autistic community. Our human rights-based approach underpins innovative support programmes that increase accessibility and inclusion. Delivered entirely by autistic professionals, this project removes financial barriers to support by providing a free 6-week DISCOVERY orientation program for recently identified autistic adults, advocacy and on-demand resources. A pioneering AI-supported advocacy service complements our efforts to foster independence, promote social participation, and champion the rights of autistic adults.
Specialisterne Ireland
Enabling Neurodiverse People to Gain Employment in Their Communities
Specialisterne Ireland
Specialisterne Ireland is a specialist recruitment consultancy supporting neurodivergent people into employment. Their Employment Readiness Project aims to create a new training product that will be impactful and empowering for neurodivergent jobseekers. They plan to create a tailored training session that marries the voices of the neurodivergent community with the reality and needs of business environments. This training will be delivered to neurodivergent job seekers and students across Ireland. This is hoped to create a follow on effect of more positive work experiences for neurodivergent people, increased retention rates and job progression and promotion.
Strand 3 - Promoting supports and pathways for teenagers with disabilities transitioning from secondary school.
HADD-ADHD Ireland
UNIMAAP
HADD-ADHD Ireland
UNIMAAP is an exciting and practical new development for the 3rd level sector designed to help and support students with ADHD, to achieve their potential. It is based on the Understanding and Managing Adult ADHD Programme (UMAAP) which is a 6-week online intervention that combines psychoeducation, with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to provide a self-help intervention for adults who have ADHD. The programme was developed by University College Dublin (UCD) School of Psychology in conjunction with ADHD Ireland and the National Clinical Programme (NCP) with the HSE. It is delivered though ADHD Ireland.
