What is the Clare TIWG
The Clare Trauma Informed Working Group is an interagency group which was established under CYPSC and Healthy Ireland in response to the increasing interest in a shift towards trauma informed care and practice within the county.
Our Group includes local representatives from Tusla, St Caiman’s secondary school, ISPCC, Shannon Family Resource Centre, Clare Local Development Company, Clare County Childcare Committee, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Clarecare and CAMHS.
Our Vision
All frontline organisations across county Clare are trauma aware.
Our Mission:
We are working to meet the needs of frontline workers, identified in our 2022 county-wide survey, through:
- Collaboration: Learning from and working with subject matter experts.
- Training: Coordinating a training programme for frontline workers.
- Resources: Developing and promoting supportive resources for frontline staff.
- Community: Promoting related events in the community and building connections.
- Implementation: Supporting organisations to develop and implement trauma aware/informed practices
Meet the Clare TIWG Team
Lisa-Marie O’Malley
(Clare Trauma Informed Working Group Co-Ordinator)
Lisa-Marie joined the Clare Trauma Informed Working Group (“TIWG”) as coordinator in early 2023. In this role, she works to bring the representatives of different frontline services in Clare together to build a strategy to make Clare a more trauma aware county. Lisa-Marie, particularly through her experiences volunteering, has seen first-hand the prevalence of trauma in our society and the real impact that those in frontline services can have in either mitigating or exacerbating an individual’s experience of trauma. She is passionate about making sure that everyone’s voice gets heard and that everyone’s perspective is considered.
Aoife Griffin
(Services Manager, ISPCC)
Aoife joined the ISPCC's 4ME Service in 2002 which has since developed into what is now the Childline Therapeutic Support Service. During her time as Manager with the agency she has been involved with a variety of projects such as the Volunteer Recognition Event, the Shield Programme, National Schools Consultation and the pilot Advocacy and Volunteer Project in Mayo. She has also acted as Head of Advocacy (2014-2015) and Interim Head of Frontline Services (2019) and is currently leading on the ISPCC’s Safeguarding Lead.
Darina Greene B.Soc. Sc M.Soc.Sc YCW
(Social Inclusion Co-ordinator Clare Local Development Company)
Darina has over 20 years’ experience of working in the community and voluntary sector working with marginalised groups to promote greater engagement, participation and access to services and supports. She specialises in work with children, young people and families with a specific focus on education disadvantage. Darina sits on the CYPSC steering committee and through her work with CLDC has led out many projects in the county to support the needs of priority groups.
Cora Guinnane
(School Chaplain, St. Caimin’s Community School)
Cora has been a teacher and school chaplain for over twenty years and is currently working in St. Caimin’s Community School in Shannon. She is a qualified Guidance Counsellor and offers wellbeing support to young people in a private capacity. She is the mother of two precious girls. She has studied and engaged in trauma awareness training, attachment and trauma informed practice for a long number of years. She has just completed research on Guidance Counsellors Experiences of Working with Students impacted by ACEs. She has a passion for supporting young people to have a voice, building resilience and promoting wellbeing.
Eileen Carroll
(Social Worker Clarecare Family Support Service)
Eileen has worked as a social worker for over thirty years and has been a part of the Clarecare Family Support Service since 2018. She has a keen interest in the area of trauma and sees it as a fundamental lens when supporting families. She is particularly interested in finding ways to bring a trauma understanding to the kitchen table.
Cathal Dillon
Family Support Worker at Shannon Family Resource Centre
Cathal has worked as a frontline practitioner with children, young people and families for 20 years in his roles as Youth and Community Worker and Family Support Worker in Shannon, Southill and Moyross. Cathal joined the Trauma informed working group in 2022 and has completed several training modules focused on Trauma Informed Care and Trauma informed Practice.
Cathal would like to see more frontline staff and managers trained in Trauma Informed Practices to support children and families who have experienced trauma in their lives in a more informed way.
“The Journey to Trauma Awareness (Clare TIWG)” Webinar 2023
In November 2023, the Clare TIWG hosted “The Journey to Trauma Awareness (Clare Trauma Informed Working Group)” webinar.
The main goal of the webinar was to make attendees aware of what’s being done and what’s being planned in the county/region to build trauma awareness and learn some simple practical steps other individuals/organisations have taken on the journey to trauma awareness that other services could consider replicating
The webinar was opened by Aisling O’Neill, Area Manager for Tusla Midwest. Thomas Mulcahy, Clare CYPSC Coordinator acted as our moderator throughout. We were also delighted to have special guest speakers Dr. Sharon Lambert from UCC, Eileen Carroll and Jacinta Swann from Clarecare Family Support Services, and Cora Guinnane from St Caiman’s secondary school presenting at the webinar. Lisa-Marie O’Malley, Clare TIWG Coordinator closed the event with a discussion of the group’s plans going forward.
Contact the Clare TIWG
Email: claretiwg@gmail.com or lisa-marie.o’malley@ispcc.ie