This article is from page 39 of the 2008-07-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 39 JPG
A MEETING to set up a Community Alert scheme in Tulla last week was “very well supported” according to local organisers.
The gathering was attended by a wide representation of local or- ganisations, who heard Garda Liam O’Grady explain the relevance of the Community Alert scheme and how it operates.
“There was good interest and a lot of local organisations were repre- sented on the night,” said Rose de
Courcy, one of the organisers of the night.
One of the main objectives of Com- munity Alert, Garda O’Grady ex- plained, is to be aware of the needs of and to protect older members of the community, particularly those living alone or living in isolated areas.
The garda explained about the grants which are available to buy socially monitored alarms and pen- CR THA
“Tt’s planned to set up a committee with at least one person from each area in the parish,’ said Rose.
The aim is to be aware of all of the older people living in the greater Tul- la area and to ensure that they take full advantage of the security meas- ures available to them.
“The garda said we should be par- ticularly concerned about elderly people living in more rural areas and to ensure that they have contact with the community. We would hope that the scheme would encourage people to drop in on elderly neighbours, to make sure they are ok and that they would have regular contact. We would also be helping with apply-
ing for grants for socially monitored alarms,’ said Rose.
Representatives of the GAA, the soccer club, the community council and various residents associations attended the meeting and a further meeting is now planned, to put in place a committee and to learn more about the scheme and how it can ben- efit communities.
“We’ll be organising another meet- ing in about a month and that will be attended by the gardai and a repre- sentative of Muintir na Tire,” said Rose.