Home > Ten years responding to drugs and criminality in Wexford. A review in 2010.

Cornmarket Project. (2010) Ten years responding to drugs and criminality in Wexford. A review in 2010. Wexford: Wexford Local Development.

External website: https://www.wld.ie/publications/


The Cornmarket Project Value Proposition:

The Cornmarket Project is in the business of creating lasting positive change by dealing with substance misuse, criminality and social exclusion.  We adhere to the highest standards of corporate and clinical governance and manage ourselves professionally.  Our high performance teams deliver proven results throughout County Wexford using our unique COAIM knowledge management and quality system tools. Through agreements with our key stakeholders, we deliver a range of services in compliance with budget allocations, on target and on schedule.  We pride ourselves on having a countywide footprint supported by local resources.

20 Years Responding to Drugs and Criminality in County Wexford

Cornmarket  was established in 1999 as an inter-agency community based treatment and rehabilitation programme supporting ex- prisoners, those with prior criminal convictions and substance misusers to move back into a stable and productive lifestyle. Cornmarket operates from premises based in Wexford Town, New Ross, Enniscorthy and Gorey and throughout the rest of the County through the provision of an outreach service. The collaboration between Wexford Local Development and its various partners including the Department of Justice and Equality through the Probation Service, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection through Community Employment Schemes, the Department of Health through the HSE , Wexford County Council through the SICAP programme and Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board through the Local Training Initiative programme, has seen Cornmarket develop into a unique and effective holistic response to criminality and substance misuse, thereby contributing to the development of  safer communities in County Wexford.

Cornmarket is distinctive in having a totally integrated approach to dealing with complex social issues through a range of services and supports for people in trouble as a consequence of criminality, drugs and alcohol. We refer to this way of working as having a continuum of services approach. In essence, it means that people who need support can access it quickly without having to jump through hoops.  In addition, Cornmarket  offers support to the families of our clients. Cornmarket also offers a restorative justice service in partnership with our colleagues in the Probation Service. Restorative Justice brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm, into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward. In addition to supporting victims of crime, restorative justice also plays an important role in lowering re-offending rates by moving offenders away from criminality.

In 2019, with support from the Probation Service and Social Innovation Fund Ireland, Cornmarket launched its social enterprise called EPIC – Enhancing Progress Inspiring Change. Our EPIC social enterprise is an innovative, independent business giving employment opportunities and creating progression routes for ex-prisoners and those with prior convictions. It produces a range of printed promotional materials for sale and, in addition to creating employment, it helps us to deliver on our mission by reinvesting profits back into Cornmarket.

In 2018, Cornmarket established its Food Konnect service as a response to food poverty in County Wexford. In partnership with the European Union’s FEAD programme- Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, we distribute food parcels from our four locations in the County, and also provide a hot food service to those suffering from poverty from our hub in Wexford Town.

It is only through such integrated, innovative and forward looking strategies and actions that we can make headway in tackling the scourge of substance misuse, crime and anti-social behaviours within our local communities. From constant media coverage we know only too well how other towns and cities in Ireland have been ravaged by the crime and despair that drugs have visited on their communities. In Wexford we can ensure that we don’t go down a similar road. Entrenched substance misuse and ongoing criminality have links to social exclusion and it is only through having an integrated approach to the whole life pattern of those affected, that we can bring about real change and so contributes to ensuring safer communities throughout County Wexford.

Item Type
Report
Publication Type
Irish-related, Report
Drug Type
All substances
Date
2010
Pages
20 p.
Publisher
Wexford Local Development
Corporate Creators
Cornmarket Project
Place of Publication
Wexford
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Electronic Only)
Related (external) link

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