Introducing Our Regional Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme Coordinator
We are proud to have Rita Bevan as part of our team; Rita has worked within social and community environments for over 30 years.
Her experience spans a homeless night shelter in Cork, a street clinic and street school in Calcutta, India and 11 years working in a residential home for young offenders.
For the past 12 years, Rita has worked with the Family Resource Centres community within a West Cork project, initially as a Family Support & Community Development Worker and later progressing to Project Coordinator of the centre.
Since 2019 Rita has been involved in our Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme and has significantly contributed to its success and expansion. Rita considers that it is society's responsibility to redress the imbalance in people's life experiences and looks to empower people to overcome the societal barriers they face. Empathetic by nature, Rita has spent all her adult life supporting people and signposting opportunities to help those most disadvantaged overcome their challenges. As an unwavering advocate for Social Prescribing, Rita has facilitated conference workshops to enable peer learning and build a strong network within Irelands Social Prescribing Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme.
As Regional Coordinator for 10 Social Prescribing sites across Cork and Kerry, Rita oversees all areas of operation and supports a team of social prescribing Link Workers. Ritas' responsibilities include implementing, monitoring, and evaluating project outcomes. She provides operational support to the Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme Link Workers, builds relationships with regional /national agencies and service providers, and sits on many committees to help inform and guide the Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme in Ireland. Rita also supports Link Workers in building a broad support network and referral pathway, enabling them to develop an integrated collaborative approach with agencies, groups, and service providers at a local level.
"Read what Rita has to say."
"Genuinely excited, I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this vital work. Committed to working diligently, I want to nurture, support, develop and grow the Social Prescribing Service within the Cork/Kerry Region.
Because FRCs are so accessible within their communities and have strong connections to other services and community groups, I would like to see a National FRC Social Prescribing Service rolled out and embedded in all Family Resource Centres across Ireland. Social Prescribing fits seamlessly within the FRC framework, and in reality, all FRCs, in some way, participate in social prescribing, whether formally or informally.
I know that the collective work and dedication of all involved in the Cork & Kerry Social Health and Wellbeing Community Referral Programme will help pave the way for a National FRC Social Prescribing Programme across the network of 121 Family Resource Centres. This will help empower individuals to improve their mental health & wellbeing, build connections, and participate in and contribute to their community.
Enabling people to overcome difficulties and have an enhanced life experience is essential in building a fair and equitable society, and I believe that social prescribing can contribute to this."
You can contact Rita by emailing: ritabevan@familyresource.ie