TRAVELLERS in Newry and Mourne Delia van der Lenden

TRAVELLERSin Newry and MourneDelia van der LendenSeptember 2010Southern Education and Library Board

Delia van der Lenden’s early career was spent in social work and community development practicewith the health and social care services in Northern Ireland before moving to work with thechild care voluntary sector. As Assistant Director with Save the Children during the 1990s shewas responsible for developing that organisation’s programme of work on the rights of Travellerchildren and played a part in the development of family support services in the St Christopher’sPark Traveller site, Newry. During that period she also chaired the Southern Traveller Early YearsPartnership funded by the International Fund for Ireland, and served on the Department of theEnvironment Advisory Committee on Travellers. Later she was appointed as director of the charityChildLine and had the task of setting up ChildLine’s first helpline service in Northern Ireland. Nowin semi retirement she works part time as a consultant providing services mainly to communityand voluntary sector organisations.The Southern Education & Library Board in collaboration with the Southern Health& Social Care Trust decided to carry out a consultation exercise with members ofthe Traveller community in the Newry and Mourne area. The focus of theconsultation was to detail the range of support mechanisms for Travellerspre 2010 and to offer some guidance on future support initiatives.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 1

IntroductionReport on a Consultation Exercise on Future Structuresfor Traveller support groups in the Newry and Mourne AreaIn 2006 the Newry and Mourne Traveller Partnership, which had been set up in 2001 to meet theneeds of the local Traveller community, took the decision to dissolve, following the withdrawalof one of its sources of funding. In addition to a number of individual Travellers the Partnershiphad been made up of representatives from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the SouthernEducation and Library Board, Newry and Mourne Trust, Newry and Mourne District Council andthe charity Save the Children. The Partnership employed a Community Development workerand a Youth Worker who were managed on behalf of the Partnership by Newry Confederationof Community Groups. The decision of the members to dissolve the Partnership was promptedboth by their concern at the limited extent of Traveller involvement in the organisation and by thechanged funding situation.Following the dissolution of the Partnership, the Newry Implementation Group of the SouthernArea Action on Travellers (SAAT) which had hitherto had a membership of representatives ofstatutory housing, health and education services, was widened to include additional statutory andsome voluntary organisations. Among the representatives attending were two Travellers employedby Sure Start and the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB.) However the dissolution ofthe Partnership meant that the area had no organisation with a remit to represent the interestsof all Travellers in Newry and Mourne. In addition the area now had no access to funding strandstargeted at independent non statutory organisations.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 2

While the formation of An Crushan Munia in October 2008 was welcomed as the first Traveller ledcommunity group in the area, its membership was drawn predominantly from Travellers from theSouth Armagh area and the outskirts of Newry. The Newry SAAT implementation group identifiedthe need for an independent consultation process on structures to support work with Travellersthroughout the Newry and Mourne area. This paper outlines the outcome of the process ofconsultation with Traveller individuals and groups, and with representatives of a range of voluntaryand statutory agencies, and makes recommendations for future action.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 3

The Consultation ProcessIt was anticipated that 80% of Traveller families in the Newry and Mourne area would be consulteddirectly either through home visits or focus groups, involving a minimum of 50 hours directcontact with Travellers. As it happened, the consultation process fell short of the intended target.The author acknowledges the assistance provided by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust’sTraveller Family Support Worker in making contact with Traveller families. However scheduling ofvisits to individual households proved problematic and the allocated contact time was reduced bythe significant number of attempted home visits which resulted in no contact.In total contact was made with 42 Travellers; 36 women (including 6 young women as part ofa youth group) and 7 men. Of these contacts 25 were in a group situation (An Crushan Munia,the young women’s group, and an ad-hoc group arranged in Carnagat Community Centre). Theremaining 27 contacts were conducted in home settings. The assistance of An Crushan Munia,Carnagat Community Association and Paula Smyth the SELB Youth Worker in facilitating access tothe groups consulted is acknowledged and appreciated.In addition discussions were held with workers from a range of agencies with a remit for Travellersupport. A list of the agency workers consulted is included at Appendix 1.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 4

Traveller ViewsWith the exception of the members of An Crushan Munia group, few of the Travellers consultedhad any direct experience of membership of Traveller support groups. Some had a generalawareness of the existence of such groups but without any membership experience many hadlimited understanding of what role such groups might play and the possible relevance of Travellersupport groups to their lives.While direct experience of Traveller support groups was limited among individuals consulted therewas no resistance expressed to the idea that Travellers might engage in collective action to bringabout desirable changes to their lives. However much of the discussion focused on whethera support group might alleviate immediate concerns such as access to housing or education,pointing up the potential for unrealistic expectations to be raised by consulting on the issue ofsupport structures.Members of An Crushan Munia strongly emphasized the need for any support group to beTraveller led, but views on leadership varied among individual Travellers consulted. The view wasexpressed that tensions between family groupings could present problems where Travellers werein leadership roles. Traveller leadership was seen by others as a possibility, provided support wasavailable to deal with paperwork where literacy was an issue, and to help manage inter familialtensions.An Crushan Munia members also saw no conflict between groups being Traveller led whilst beingsupported appropriately by non Travellers. They emphasised the importance of education in givingTravellers the confidence and the skills to enable them to take on leadership roles. This groupwas also conscious of the need for an information and support point particularly for Travellers newTravellers in Newry and Mourne 5

to the area. The idea of a ‘one stop shop’ to provide information and support for Travellers wasproposed, similar to the physical base provided by An Munia Tober in Belfast.In considering the issue of any service targeted specifically at Travellers there is a need toensure that it provides the additional support that Travellers need because of their particular lifeexperiences, and that it plays a role in signposting Travellers to the range of services available tothe general public rather than being a substitute for those services.While both Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) and An Munia Tober advocate the concept of ‘Travelleronly space’ they are referring to organisational arrangements rather than separate services. Inthe past where designated health visiting or social work staff were appointed to serve Travellercommunities what was intended to be positive action resulted in Traveller families having lessaccess to the optimum range of services and the marginalisation and eventual burnout of some ofthe workers concerned.Discussions with Newry Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) suggest that, subject to resources beingavailable, that organisation would be in a position to act as a ‘signposting’ mechanism to newTravellers (or others) arriving in Newry and needing advice and information on how to accessservices. In partnership with the Women and Family Health Initiative and the South Down FamilyHealth group, CAB has already provided training for Travellers on benefits and form filling, and hasundertaken benefit information sessions aimed primarily at a Traveller audience.An Crushan Munia proposal merits further discussion and exploration and may fit with the ITMnotion of ‘separate Traveller space’ rather than segregated services.A number of the younger women consulted individually or in a family situations spoke of the needfor more opportunities to meet with other women and to engage in education or hobbies. Some,Travellers in Newry and Mourne 6

including a focus group of young mothers from the Carnagat area, were aware of the work of AnCrushan Munia and would welcome the opportunity to participate in a similar group in their ownlocality.Raising the issue of peoples preferences in relation to future structures for Traveller supportgroups led in many cases to an assumption that something new was about to happen. The factthat, with the exception of An Crushan Munia members, few of those consulted had any awarenessof the former Newry and Mourne Traveller Partnership made explanations about the purposeof the consultation exercise problematic. In general consultees were interested in the conceptof Traveller collective action but were keen to explore it in terms of how it might relate to theirparticular priorities such as their position on the housing list or their wish for opportunities foradult education or hobby activities.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 7

DiscussionSince the early 1980’s Newry and Mourne has had a succession of Traveller support groups,the nature of which had much in common with the pattern of development throughout Irelandidentified in the Irish Traveller Movement document ‘Partnership and Supporting MeaningfulTraveller Participation in the Irish Traveller Movement.’Initial action on behalf of Travellers followed what Irish Traveller Movement describes as ‘TheCharity Model’. This work was carried out by settled people, often from religious or charitablemotives with no involvement from Travellers. Those working with Travellers held the power inthe relationship between settled and Traveller people and as a result little value was placed onTraveller culture or way of life.This phase was followed by what Irish Traveller Movement describes as the ‘CommunityOrganisation and Social Planning Model’. This way of working was based on the belief thateducating Travellers was the way to promote the community’s integration into society. TheCommunity Worker acts as leader and Travellers take part in group activities. Within this modelthe worker holds the power in the relationship and while Travellers may develop basic leadershipskills and increase their self esteem the model has little if any impact on the position of Travellerswithin society. Much of the considerable volume of Traveller support work that was carried out inNewry and Mourne during the early late 1980’s and subsequently could be said to have followedthis model.During this period considerable investment was made by a range of statutory and voluntaryorganisations in Traveller support work in the Newry area, and while the reasons for the failureTravellers in Newry and Mourne 8

of this investment to significantly improve the position of Newry Travellers during this period arecomplex, the non-participation by Travellers in decision making is likely to have been a factor.What Irish Traveller Movement describes as ‘The Partnership Model’ has resonance for theapproach adopted in working with Travellers in Newry and Mourne in recent years, and inparticular for the work which led to the setting up of the An Crushan Munia group. The modelsees Travellers and settled people working together to overcome the oppression of Travellers bychanging the structures that create such oppression. The partnership is based on the principlesof community development. Inequalities in society are acknowledged as impacting on Travellers’lives and Travellers are viewed as key stakeholders within the partnership. This model givesTravellers a voice and places a value on their ethnicity, culture and way of life. While this modelis based on a belief that the partnership should result in an equal balance of power between theTraveller and settled partners ITM acknowledge that this is not always achieved in practice.While the purposes to be served by any future structures for Traveller support have not beenspelled out in detail by the agencies commissioning this consultation exercise these can be inferredfrom the brief provided.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 9

The intended purposes appear to be;• To act as a vehicle for Travellers and settled people (including representatives of statutoryagencies) to work in partnership in a way that empowers Travellers and challenges inequalitiesand discrimination affecting Traveller communities• To allow for access to funding streams not available to statutory organisations and to enablesuch funding to be used to employ workers in a more flexible and innovative way than hasbeen possible within more bureaucratic structures. The experience of the Newry and MourneTraveller Partnership suggests that funders require such groups to demonstrate that theyare Traveller led. (However as discussed later in this paper the funding situation is changingwith some funders now channelling funds for innovative projects through governmentalorganisation)• To coordinate the work of statutory and voluntary organisations providing services to TravellercommunitiesIt is important to learn lessons from the past and in particular why successive well intentioned anddiligent Traveller support groups in the Newry area achieved only limited participation by Travellersin decision making processes and failed to empower Travellers to take on and sustain leadershiproles. This fact is recognised by the authors of the paper which initiated this discussion on futurestructures for Traveller support groups in Newry and Mourne when they state:‘From the experience of partnership work to date agency ledTraveller work has led to quite limited Traveller involvement’.Many of these historic groups had aims similar to those referred to above. It may be that someof these aims were mutually exclusive. For example a group which takes on the role of employerTravellers in Newry and Mourne 10

needs to deal with issues outside the day to day experience of most Travellers, leading to thelikelihood of a power imbalance between Traveller and settled members unless Travellers havehad the opportunity for significant training and capacity building in advance.The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) paper deals with the issue of state agency representativesplaying a part in the management of Traveller organisations. It indicates that since Travellerorganisations are non-governmental it is for local groups to decide whether or not to invitestatutory representatives onto their management committee. The Irish Traveller Movement’s viewis that best practice is not to have statutory organisations on Traveller organisations because ofthe potential conflict of interest. They express the view that:‘..it is far better to utilise the Traveller space within the organisation for developing clearstrategies to improve Travellers lives and engage state agencies in other appropriate fora’.To raise the debate about the role of statutoryrepresentatives on Traveller support groupsis not to suggest that strong advocates forTraveller equality are not to be found withinthese organisations. In Newry and Mourne, aselsewhere, successive Traveller support groupshave come into being and have been sustainedby highly committed employees of governmentalorganisations who valued the flexibility to workon Traveller issues once removed from theirorganisational constraints.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 11

An Munia Tober in its paper on proposals to develop a Northern Ireland Traveller Networkrecognises this reality where workers in statutory agencies have supported the development ofTraveller organisations:‘….there may be individuals working in the state sector, very supportive of Travellers, andwhose expertise the Network will look to build on, and also build strategic alliances in order tobring about change for Travellers. However these strategic alliances can be built up in otherforums (sic) (e.g. Taskforce on Traveller Education) rather than within the internal workings ofthe collective’.An Munia Tober is unequivocal on the issue of governmental representatives on Travellerorganisations and gives its reasons for its stance;‘As one of the key functions of the Traveller organisation is to influence decisions of governmentdepartments and state agencies it would not be appropriate to have officials of the same sectorrepresented on the management. The conflict of interest arises, in that the state sector is boththe recipient of the representations, submissions etc by the Traveller Organisations as well asalso involved in formulating these very positions’.The Newry Southern Area Action with Travellers (SAAT) Implementation Group has an importantrole to play in coordinating the work of statutory and voluntary organisations providing servicesto Travellers in the Newry and Mourne area and in acting as a conduit of information to the widerSAAT Group. The nature of the local implementation group means that Traveller participationhas been limited in the past to Traveller workers nominated as representing their employingorganisations, and representatives of An Crushan Munia. Where organisations choose to berepresented by any Traveller employees or volunteers this should be encouraged, and An CrushanTravellers in Newry and Mourne 12

Munia, as a Traveller led community group, shouldcontinue to play a role in the SAAT implementation group.In both these instances it must be recognised that therole of these individuals is to represent their respectiveorganisations and to bring an important individual Travellerperspective to debates rather than to represent Travellersgenerally.Promoting the involvement of Travellers in communitylife should be seen as a long term goal that requiresconsiderable investment in capacity building andempowerment strategies if it is to be achieved.A number of projects have recently been developed as aresult of new funding streams which have the potential toimprove the overall wellbeing and confidence of Travellersand thus enable Traveller communities to release theirleadership potential and to exercise their rights as citizenson an equal basis with members of other communities.Significantly elements of these new funding streams havebeen channelled through governmental organisationsbut in a way that allows for a flexibility and targetingof resources previously assumed as possible only inthe community sector. The debate on support groupstructures changes when the imperative of a local groupas a conduit for funding streams is reduced.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 13

1. The Southern Regional College’s Transforming Learning Communities project launchedearly in 2010 with Lottery funding aims to provide a range of education, training andsupport services for Travellers in the Southern Region, including Newry and Mourne. Theproject’s focus is on enabling Travellers to acquire essential skills in areas such as numeracy,literacy and IT, and on offering training on health and wellbeing related topics. It seeks toenable Travellers to develop the confidence and skills needed to become more involved involunteering, employment, and in community life and activities.The Transforming Learning Communities differs from many other further education servicesin that it is able to offer essential skills training at pre-entry level and without the constraintsof ensuring minimum class numbers. It is aimed primarily at over 18s but the funder hasaccepted that 16 to 18 year olds may also be targeted.Essential skills can be delivered through the medium of craft and personal care courses, andthrough other practical courses such as driving test theory and committee skills. Communitybases are used to deliver the programme, but the flexibility of the project is demonstrated bythe fact that training can be delivered, where appropriate, in participants’ own homes.The project relies on its partnerships with other community based organisations to promote itswork to Traveller communities and to make contact with potential course participants. In thisrespect is faces a particular challenge in the Newry and Mourne area because of the lack of aspecific Traveller support group, but links have been developed with organisations such as SureStart as a means of promoting the project to Travellers.2. The Regenerating Environments and Community Health (REACH) project has also beenfunded by the lottery to focus on the needs of disadvantaged communities across the SouthernTravellers in Newry and Mourne 14

Trust area. Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, including Travellers are beingtargeted by the project in the Newry and Mourne area. REACH offers a range of programmesdesigned to promote health and well being while promoting the personal development ofparticipants and enabling then to develop assertiveness skills and to grow in confidence. Thefocus is on adults and parents of children under 16.3. An important aspect of the programme is the development of volunteering opportunities. TheProject Coordinator envisages that over time Traveller volunteers trained as Community HealthMentors could work in a community development role and contribute to the task of capacitybuilding in their own communities. In this project, where Travellers are one of a number oftarget groups, this approach, if successful, could be a method of maximising the impact of theproject’s limited resources.4. The SAAT Safe and Well project works with Travellers throughout the Southern area. Fundingof £1 million has been provided by the Big Lottery Fund for a period of five years. The projectaims to:‘promote an ethos of integration and support for a marginalised and disadvantagedcommunity’.The focus of is on community development, health related activities and work with youngTravellers, with the specific focus in any one geographical area determined by the stage ofdevelopment of the Traveller communities and the priorities identified by Travellers themselves.Of particular relevance to the topic of this paper is the intention during year two of the projectto support the formation of a Traveller only forum to:‘assist Travellers to come together to discuss issues relevant to them across the SouthernTrust area.’ 7Travellers in Newry and Mourne 15

5. The Belong project is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies with the aim of promoting a senseof belonging amongst BME children, including Traveller children, aged 7 to 12 years acrossthe Southern area. Belong works in partnership with other children’s services on threeprogrammes of activities;a. Cultural Confidence and Competence Programmeb. Anti-Bullying and Anti-Racial Bullying Programmec. Education Programme - supporting BME children and young people to improve theireducational achievement and participation in school activitiesAs study carried out by Queen’s University of Belfast Centre for Educational Research in 2008found that on a range of indicators such as school belonging, experience of bullying andfeelings of self-worth, Traveller children experience greater levels of need than other BMEchildren and significantly greater levels of need than their white settled counterparts.The Belong project is funded for a three year period at a level which allows for the employmentof seven full time staff members supplemented by a further three full time trainee positions.The project is examining ways of encouraging Travellers to consider applying for these traineeposts and whether some of the barriers to entering employment can be overcome.While Traveller children in this age group account for approximately a quarter of the BMEchildren in the Southern area, the project has responded to the findings of the QUB study byallocating 60% of its resources to working with children from Traveller communities.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 16

The Belong project with its emphasis on improving confidence and self esteem amongTraveller children and young people, and developing their sense of belonging has an importantcontribution to make in preparing young Travellers for active citizenship in the future.However important gaps in targeted work with children and young people remain in relation tothe 5 to 6 year age group and young men in particular in the age group 12 to 15 years.6. Cooperation And Working Together (CAWT) Social Inclusion Project has beensuccessful in securing funding from the European Union INTERREG IVA programme to progressa three year cross border Social Inclusion project which will include Travellers as one of itstarget groups. The overall aim of this project is to improve the health status of the populationand reduce the inequalities in health.The project will improve social inclusion and demonstrate health and social gain by establishinga forty-week training programme for twenty Travellers. Upon completion of the trainingprogramme participants will have developed the confidence, competence, knowledge andskills to be employed as community health workers in mainstream agencies. The focus inNewry and Mourne area will be Traveller communities in South Armagh. Preliminary discussionwith Travellers has already taken place and it is anticipated that the training programme willcommence in October 2010.7. Hidden Harm. This local service, located within the Southern Trust Promoting WellbeingTeam is part of a regional action plan to improve outcomes for children born to and/or living inhouseholds where there is alcohol and drug misuse, including the misuse of over-the-counterand prescribed medication. In common with many marginalised communities alcohol andsubstance abuse is a significant issue for Traveller communities in Newry and Mourne.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 17

8. Partnerships. Specific mechanisms have been put in place to support cooperation betweena number of the new projects including Safe and Well, Belong, CAWT Social Inclusion Projectand the SRC’s Transforming Learning Communities. In addition SAAT and the local SAATImplementation Group provide vehicles for ensuring that programmes with complementaryaims work in concert to maximise their impact.Signposting Travellers to appropriate sources of support and assisting new projects to link withTraveller families and communities is a role which the Southern Trust’s Family Support Workeris uniquely placed to play. The current post holder has worked with local Traveller communitiesin a variety of roles over the past two decades and in her role as Family Support worker dealswith over 300 referrals a year from Traveller families in the Newry and Mourne area.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 18

Conclusions and Recommendations:1) The Newry SAAT Implementation Group should continue to be the mechanism by whichstatutory and voluntary organisations providing services to Traveller communities in Newryand Mourne co-ordinate their activities. Continued representation from An Crushan Muniashould be encouraged and additional Traveller membership secured where possible. Itshould be recognised that the role of such Traveller members is to represent their nominatingorganisations and to bring an important individual Traveller perspective bear on the work ofthe SAAT Implementation Group rather than representing Travellers generally.2) Contact with the An Crushan Munia group suggests that included in its membership are anumber of people with significant leadership abilities and personal strengths. Neverthelessmuch of its success as a group, and in contributing to the personal development and skillsdevelopment of its membership, is a result of the sustained support provided by the Womenand Family Health Initiative. If other Traveller led groups are to emerge in Newry andMourne an investment in long term work, based on the principles and ethos of communitydevelopment will be necessary.3) With the exception of the An Crushan Munia members, few of the Travellers consulted aspart of this exercise had any experience of membership of Traveller support groups or anyconcept of the role such groups might play in challenging the inequalities their communitiesexperience. For this reason the consultation exercise failed to generate any widespread debatein relation to Traveller views on possible future support group structures. Given the fact that(An Crushan Munia excepted) we do not have the benefit of Traveller opinion on structures,and the preference among funders and other organisations and practitioners that Travellersupport groups should be Traveller led, it is inappropriate to attempt to be prescriptive abouthow support groups in the area should be structured in the future.Travellers in Newry and Mourne 19

4) The past year (2009-10) has seen an unprecedented investment by the Big Lottery Fundand Atlantic Philanthropies in new programmes to support Traveller communities across theSouthern Area, including Newry and Mourne. These programmes have specific targets inrelation to education (Transforming Learning Communities), health and wellbeing (REACH,Safe and Well, CAWT), and work with children and young people (Belong) and they work froma community development and empowerment perspective. Mechanisms have been put in placeto maximise the impact of these new programmes by coordinating activities and working inpartnership with existing services. Thus there is now the potential to see significant gains inlife opportunities for Travellers in Newry and Mourne in the coming years.5) If the new programme targets in relation to health, education and training, employmentopportunities and improved self esteem among Traveller communities are realised it is tobe expected that Traveller engagement within their own communities and among the widercommunity will increase. However, it is important that in striving to achieve these targets thatthe programmes have regard to the needs of Travellers who have not engaged to date withcommunity programmes.6) The focus in terms of supporting Traveller community involvement should not be restrictedto work on Traveller specific issues or Traveller support groups. Of equal validity issupporting Travellers to gain the skills and confidence to join, or to form, sporting or culturalorganisations, hobby groups or organisations such as parent-teacher groups at their localschools.7) In the Carnagat area Travellers have been involved to an extent in the local communityassociation and this type of integrated community activity should be supported. It is notedthat the Safe and Well programme in its community development strand has as one of its aimsTravellers in Newry and Mourne 20

the provision of support to Travellers to become involved in local residents groups as a meansof improving community relations.8) The SAAT Safe and Well project has plans to support the setting up of a Travellers only forumacross the Southern Trust area during the second year of its five year programme to enableTravellers to come together to discuss issues relevant to them. Opportunities may arise aspart of this initiative to develop a local forum in the Newry and Mourne area, whether on anongoing or an ad hoc basis, thus providing an opportunity for dialogue between Travellercommunities and service providers. In addition the Safe and Well project has an ongoingcommunity development strand within its programme with the potential to provide ongoingsupport to any emerging Traveller support group or action group.9) While the Safe and Well programme aims to support the development of Traveller ledcommunity organisations it must be recognised that the project has a remit for the SouthernHealth and Social Care Trust area as a whole and therefore will be constrained in the resourcesit can devote specifically to supporting developments in Newry and Mourne. SAAT hasrecognised that the new programmes funded by the Big Lottery and Atlantic Philanthropiesare designed to work in tandem with the locally based Traveller support infrastructure and isexamining the possibility of an application for Peace 3 funding to strengthen existing Travellersupport groups.10) Since the dissolution of the Newry and Mourne Traveller Partnership in 2006 the area hasnot had a local Traveller support group. However there are other organisations in the areawith the ability to work at neighbourhood level and with experience of integrating Travellersupport work into programmes aimed at the wider community. The Confederation ofCommunity Groups (CCG) is a locally based community development organisation with aTravellers in Newry and Mourne 21

emit for supporting community action throughout the Newry and Mourne area, and as part ofits Neighbourhood Renewal programme is active in many of the areas which have Travellersresidents. The Women and Family Health Initiative has played an important role in thedevelopment of the An Crushan Munia group in South Armagh. In the event of a successfulbid to the Peace 3 programme channelling funding through these organisations wouldenable Traveller communities in Newry and Mourne to have access to the sort of grassrootscommunity development support provided in other areas by Traveller support groups withthe added benefit of integrating action on Traveller issues with work relevant to the widercommunity.11) Where any new Traveller led community organisations emerge in the future as a result ofthe support provided by the new programmes the nature of the relationship of statutoryemployees with these groups needs careful consideration. In a Traveller led group it will be forTravellers to decide who should be invited to join the group. However such groups will have arole in challenging the actions of service providers and may be compromised in this respect ifemployees of those organisations are group members. Support for the work of the Travellerled groups should be provided by governmental organisations in ways which does not involvegroup membership.Delia van der LendenSeptember 2010Travellers in Newry and Mourne 22

Consultations with agencies/organisations & parents:Members of the Newry Traveller CommunityStella McLoughlinSouthern Trust Family Support WorkerDonna Sloan Women & Family Health Initiative (2009) - REACH (2010)Paula SmythSELB Youth WorkerLawrence BradleyConfederation of Community GroupsPhyllis KimberleyCarnagat Community AssociationRosemary McDonaldNewry Citizens Advice BureauDerek HanwayAn Munia ToberDolores WilsonAn Munia ToberDamien WalshIrish Traveller MovementCaroline ColemanTransforming Learning CommunitiesLisa MooreSafe and WellIsrael HontavillaBelongKaren MeehanCAWT (Telephone contact)Barbara FitzgeraldAn Crushan MuniaKathleen SheridanAn Crushan Munia (Chairperson)Travellers in Newry and Mourne 23