A new € 4.8 million addiction services centre has opened in Co Cork which will triple the number of people it can help.
Paying tribute to the group behind the opening, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said on Friday the Tabor Group had done sterling work in the Cork area over the past 30 years. He said the opening of its new Fellowship House Centre at Spur Hill at Doughcloyne on the outskirts of Cork city was a major advance for the addiction treatment service.
"Tabor Group have played an important role in the treatment and rehabilitation of people with addictions for the last thirty years and today is another significant milestone as this project will be a vital support for people addressing addiction problems in Cork and the wider community."
“I am delighted to open the € 4.8 million development of Tabor Fellowship House, which will see the service increase its capacity to provide both treatment and independent accommodation for over 30 people recovering from addiction.”
Denis Healy, Chairman of Tabor Group said the development was built on the existing site of Tabor Fellowship House and will increase capacity from 10 residents to 22, completing a treatment programme.
Tabor Lodge and Tabor Renewal
The facility will also include an additional 11 units of accommodation for people who have completed their primary addiction programme but require a step-down model of independent living while having access to ongoing support and care, he said.
“Since we began in 1989, the numbers needing our services have increased significantly and the profile of client presenting for help has evolved.
“The aim of the programme is to build on and consolidate the work of the recovery programme which has already begun in primary treatment. The programme emphasises personal responsibility, peer support, lifestyle changes to help continue a healthy journey of recovery.”
Mr Healy said Tabor Group, which also runs Tabor Lodge in Minane Bridge and Tabor Renewal in Shanakiel, has over 60 staff working with over 300 clients and their families each year and the new centre will allow it to increase its occupancy at Fellowship House from 50 a year to 150 a year.
Mayor of Co Cork, Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy praised Tabor Group for their work over the last 30 years and said their partnership with Cork County Council to help secure finance was a template for funding step down facilities for those coming out of treatment.
“Cork County Council has had a long and rewarding working relationship with the not-for profit housing sector as a way of expanding its social stock and is delighted to see this project, which is part of a wider housing programme, officially opened here today,” he said.
