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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£370.8K
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Spending
£334.6K
Public benefits
ACCORD is an agency of the Catholic Church providing a service to couples preparing for or seeking a deeper commitment within the sacrament of marriage. ACCORD's services are open to all regardless of faith, denomination or none. Services are provided, based on client need rather than an ability to pay. In the marriage education programme we
empower couples to explore and reflect on the essential elements of their marriage and the purpose and value of their choices within a committed relationship. ACCORD specialises in Inter-Church marriage preparation and works with clergy from the other main denominations. ACCORD's post-primary Relationships and Sexuality Education Service, “Love Matters” was developed in partnership with the CCEA . It is a programme for young people aged 11 to 16 years to help them develop safe and fulfilling relationships. Relationship counselling is provided for couples as well as individuals in a couple relationship in a caring and confidential manner. People who benefit from our work are : - Those whose ability to communicate in marriage is enhanced in marriage preparation - Those who learn through counselling to cope with what on their own would be overwhelming challenges to their relationship - Those who avail of the Fertility & Wellbeing Service - The children, parents and teachers who benefit from the pioneering work in Relationships & Sexuality Education initiated in schools - Those who are helped through counselling to separate amicably and to minimise the consequential damage to their children. ACCORD’s counselling service contributes in a very positive way to the happiness and wellbeing of many children, often very significantly, when their parents seek help in order to resolve their relationship difficulties. This is even more critical for children living in situations of domestic violence/abuse. The family is necessary for the stability of society, as the unit in which children, the future generation, are nurtured, cared for and reared into adulthood. The reaction of parents to each other in their home environment and the example children see set by them shapes and moulds to a great degree the patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour of young people. The family greatly contributes to and influences personality development for as children grow, they draw into themselves attitudes and styles of life from around those persons living close to them; they mirror the behaviour of others and frequently act it out in their own lives. It follows from this that emotionally unhealthy or dysfunctional families find the task of rearing and enabling children to be balanced and happy quite a challenging and difficult one. Because of the importance of the family for the life and wellbeing of society it is essential that ACCORD continues to work to provide the necessary supports to strengthen marriage and the family.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
ACCORD’s work falls within activities mandated by the Department of Health, Family Policy Unit. In addition, the aims of the organisation dovetail with and complement the Government’s Families Matter; Supporting Families in Northern Ireland (2008) . This strategy supports the aims and objectives of another strategy; “Our Children and Young People,
Our Pledge”, which sets out the vision for improving support for families and children ACCORD’s services are based in 11 locations throughout N.I. We aim to be as accessible as possible and reach out to those most marginalised in our society. The vast majority of people who avail of our counselling service could not afford counselling within the private sector. Helping families to remain together reduces cost to the exchequer.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of education
- The advancement of religion
- The advancement of health or the saving of lives
Who the charity helps
- Adult training
- Children (5-13 year olds)
- General public
- Parents
- Unemployed/low income
- Voluntary and community sector
- Youth (14-25 year olds)
How the charity works
- Advice/advocacy/information
- Counselling/support
- Education/training
- Relief of poverty
- Religious activities
- Volunteer development
- Welfare/benevolent
- Youth development
