'It's like a second home': Cara House enters a new era

A painting by Jan Smith hangs from the wall of the drop-in room at the new Cara House premises on Letterkenny’s Pearse Road.

Smith’s illustration shows the building at Mount Southwell Place, above the Market Square, where the journey began.

The pointer to the past feels important as a new Cara House era dawns. The red door at Mount Southwell Place might be closed now, but it has become symbolic of Cara House, etched as it is into the logo.

At a time in the not-too-distant past, Cara House operated from seven premises across Letterkenny, including the RCC, the Central Library, Conwal Hall, Dr Scally Place and local hotels.

In the last three years, in spite of challenges such as Covid-19 and Brexit, two sheds on a site at Pearse Road have been developed into a facility that will serve as the beating heart of its community for the next generation.

The Cara House Family Resource Centre incorporates the Children’s Centre, which opened last summer and an Active Age Centre, the doors of which opened last Monday. The cost of the development - which has been funded by LEADER, Tusla, HSE, Pobal, Donegal County Council and Donegal ETB - was around €600,000, turning the buildings from bare shells to a modern facility, which will be officially opened later in the year.

“It is like a second home for a lot of people,” says co-ordinator Martina McGinty, who has worked at Cara House for the last 15 years.

“Cara House has helped create friends for life. It has helped combat isolation and boost friendships.”

The Children’s Centre caters for 140-registered children. The facility is opened from 9am-5pm daily and included a secure astroturf outdoor play area. Among the children who attend are 20 from the nearby IPAS centre and numbers have swelled since they moved into the new premises last summer, which helped them provide the toddler room

“This building has really allowed us to expand,” says Childcare Manager Klara Byrne.”

Numbers, in fact, have doubled in mornings and the increase is similar in the after-school registrations. A waiting list is also in place, such has been the demand.

“Kids can come here aged two and be here until they’re 12,” Klara says.

Children are collected from local primary schools in the Cara House minibus, driven by Michael Hegarty, who first arrived as part of a community employment scheme 12 years ago and is now a full-time employee. He is also the Helping Hands Organiser, an affordable gardening and light DIY service for older and vulnerable people.

The Active Age Centre became operational last Monday and Cara House, including community employment and Tús workers and volunteers, now employs 50 people.

When word spread of the centre reopening, one man ran down to see for himself and entered dripping with a mixture of sweat and emotion.

“So many people felt isolated post-Covid,” Martina says. People are gleaming again since we have reopened.”

They tell an anecdote of a woman who used to get as far as the steps of the Mount Southwell premises, but would go no further. Eventually, the timid woman entered, but kept by herself. Soon, she was making tea for all present and fully immersed in the place.

This might be a new premises, but the fingerprints of Cara House's Susan McCauley remain.

Martina says: “This wouldn’t have happened without Susan’s drive and determination. She really wanted a new home for Cara House.”

A determined committee, led by Chairperson Joe Boland also includes Stephen Shevlin, Susan Kenny, Christina Shields, Louise Chirwa, Netty Gibson, Bill Vaughan, Andrew McNulty.

Two new programmes are in the works now. The Women's Shed, which will get underway in late summer, already has 60 subscribers and will include picture framing, DIY, knitting, arts and crafts and mindfulness.

The Senior Summer project is already fully booked and will see participants undertake a week full of activities from 10am-4pm daily.

Staff are currently devising an autumn-winter programme that will include arts and crafts, mindfulness, yoga and language classes.

At the moment Spanish, Irish, yoga, baby massage, walking and book club activities are ongoing.

An elevator means that the entire building is accessible to everyone with a big function room upstairs able to cater for a wide range of activities. The presence of a room that is to serve as a study hub is a further outline of Cara House's capabilities. They have ten laptops and printer access on-site.

Pre-pandemic, it is estimated that around 500 people availed of Cara House each week.

Martina says: “Every day is different, but you feel here as if you’re helping a lot of people. We are open to all."