This article is from page 6 of the 2011-07-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
VOLUNTEERISM in Clare is at an all time high as unemployed people in the county offer their skill for free to worthy organisations in the county.
Figures released from by the CAO last week reveal that the numbers signing on in the county rose by almost 200 last month – the first monthly increase since the Live Register hit its all time high in the county in January.
The news that there were 10,400 signing on in the county in June is disappointing as it comes after four months of straight drops in the the Live Register figure in the county.
The chairperson of the the Clare Citizen Information Service, Paul Woulfe, said that while there is no sign in the number of unemployed dropping, there are now many schemes to help them when they do find themselves out of work.
“We are seeing more and more people coming into us – people are still being let go and the trend is not changing at all at the moment. But there are a lot of schemes there to help people and the information about them is changing all the time. We would advice anyone who becomes unemployed to come into the office to see us or to look at any of our websites to see what their options are,” he said.
“The big thing for people when they lose their job is dealing with the immediate financial issues. A lot of people have mortgages and other expenditures so they have to change their budget a lot. If there is serious debt there or if they are finding that they are running into debt then we can refer them onto MABS who can help them with that.
“We do help by advising people on how they can fill their time in a good way. They might be interested in doing some voluntary work so we would be sending them onto the Clare Volunteer Centre who could assess their skills.
“People have more time on their hands than they are used to so we would be encouraging people to look at their options for upskilling and pointing them towards the VEC or other organisations. Or we could send them to the Adult Guidance Service if they want to get back as a mature student or to a jobs facilitator at the social welfare office if someone has an idea and wants to go out on their own. So we can look at the various options and then advise them where they can go and get more information and support that can help them.”
For help from the Citizen Information Service check out losingyourjob. ie or call into the Clare Citizen Information Services offices on Bank Place in Ennis.