ARC Healthy Living Centre

ARC Healthy Living Centre Ltd is a company limited by guarantee, accepted as charitable by HMRC. The Company is based in Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh.

The objects of the charity as stated in the memorandum of association are:

To promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland and the bordering counties of the Republic of Ireland by establishment of centre (the ARC Centre) and the provision of holistic health improvement programmes,  without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other opinions, by associating together the said inhabitants and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advice education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.

The Company was formed in November 2000 to undertake the management of the ARC Healthy Living Centre capital build project, which was completed in September 2001, and to oversee the ongoing operation of the centre and associated programmes. The aim of the Board was to establish a project which provides needs grounded services to the following groups of people:

• The elderly
• Those with mental health problems
• Rurally isolated
• Families on low incomes
• Young people
• All sections of the Northern Ireland community
• Short and long term unemployed
• Adults and Children with special needs.
• People with Drug / Alcohol dependencies

Arc seeks to strategically engage with agencies to influence policy, whilst operating direct service delivery projects that respond to the needs of rurally marginalised people. The ARC Healthy Living Centre currently delivers services to over 3,000 children and families many of whom are living in areas of high deprivation. It offers a range of core services all aimed at addressing inequality in health and promoting positive wellbeing. All of its programmes and services are developed in response to identified need. Activity with a particular relevance to childcare includes:

Cherish Sure Start

Works with parents and children to promote physical, social and emotional development of pre-school children. Operating in 10 wards and funded initially through DHPSS and subsequently DE, supported by The Western Area Childcare Partnership;

Chit-Chat

Operates as a conduit for health information, benefit advice and local interest information to be accessible to older people and acts as an advocacy service to ensure that services to older people are enhanced. It aims to promote independent living and reduce isolation. This is achieved through a telephone service and active persons programmes.

SSAVI

As a single entity it provides staff recruitment & placement services or substitutes through the utilization of Bank/Relief staff for not for profit childcare providers in rural Fermanagh. The area of coverage continues to grow in order to met identified need.

ACTIVE ALLSORTS Childcare Centre

Childcare centre providing service for parents wishing to return to employment or training. The Centre provides drop in crèche, 2 year old programme, after school service. Full day care (out of term time). Self financing and linking with SURESTART in pre-school provision, registered by Western Health and Social Care Trust.

SOLACE

Supportive Opportunities for Living with Addiction in a Community Environment - befriending/advocacy support service aiming to reduce harm, caused by chronic addiction, to individuals, families, and communities:

EDGE

Youth development and out-of-term time resiliency building programme. Support, training and resources to enable local people to develop, manage, deliver and own youth activity programmes. Youth and Family support, supported through the WHSSB;

ARC is registered as associate members of the National Association of Child Contact Centres and is working to best practice guidelines and agreed standards in the development of a child contact service for Fermanagh.

ARC has been nationally recognised as benefitting people and planet. In 2010 ARC have been successful in satisfying key criteria to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, which identifies us a trading centre for social and environmental purposes. ARC provides shared space, basing a range of health and well being services within the Centre. The ARC actively promotes community participation and volunteering – services are run for local people, by local people.

A range of early and upstream interventions are delivered through the ARC. Currently we deliver: community pharmacy service, smoking cessation, sexual health services, drug and alcohol education and treatment services.  ARC core projects also deliver and support nutritional programmes, and cancer early detection and prevention initiatives.

Irvinestown Community Partnership is an umbrella organisation for 36 local voluntary and community groups, active in the North Fermanagh area. The Partnership promotes communication and co-operation between its member organisations and assists local people in creating a positive vision for their community. It also seeks to ensure that the views and needs of local people are heard by policy makers.

The ARC HLC hosts a wide range of additional services including the Housing Executive advice clinic, Community Mental Health care staff, statutory addictions Counselling Services, Social Security advice clinic, Citizens Advice Bureau, and RELATE.

Community development and good governance principles underpin all ARC activity; the management team are supported and governed by a board of directors drawn from a range of backgrounds with a broad skill base including company law, audit, finance, business, health, education and inclusive of local stakeholders.

ARC has a strategic resource function supporting all projects with the provision of Human Resource, ICT, financial support, transport and childcare provision. This facility ensures that strict policy and practice is adhered to in all issues of recruitment, payroll and financial transparency. It also provides excellent internal audit, feedback and ensures all services are accessible to rural dwellers with the inclusion of quality transport and childcare provision.  All project management staff are line managed by and accountable to a CEO on a daily basis.

ARC manages and supports a number of core programmes. To support internal controls assurance and in an effort to maximise economies of scale ARC works closely with an economic development company, Irvinestown Trustee Enterprise Company Ltd (ITEC). Currently ARC share payroll and HR services with ITEC.

Opening hours are 9-5 Monday to Friday but in line with its policy of meeting the needs of the local community, ARC is open on a number of evenings when required.