A fantastic evening kayaking on the Lee - thanks to the instructors at the Phoenix Kayak Club. Residents and staff had a great time - and a lovely final day for Roisin who finished her placement with us yesterday.

A fantastic evening kayaking on the Lee with Phoenix Kayak Club. Residents and staff had a great time - and a lovely final evening for Roisin who finished her placement with us yesterday. Thanks to all the instructors at the club for their time and enthusiasm.

We have all been enjoying the gorgeous weather at the Cork Foyer over the past few days but it's still busy here despite the sunshine. The internal training has finshed for the summer - getting folders in to the CETB for QQI cert this week. Hoping that our young people will achieve 30 certs altogether which would be a great achievement. It's a testament to the hard work put in by the residents and the tutors. Our Great to Train courses have all finished as well - the level of achievement has been amazing. Over 300 certs awarded in a wide range of practical courses. We have over 30 people start education, training or employment and others are waiting to hear if they have been accepted onto courses for September. None of this would have been possible without the support of Cork Simon (thanks Lisa and Fiona), Focuas Ireland and of course Pobal for kindly funding the programme. The new Bishopsgrove project is going really well - we have moved 9 students in so far and hope to double that number next month. By September we hope to have all 39 rooms filled. The support from Cork City Council and Tusla has been invaluable in ensuring this project is a success.

Photos from a fantastic day in Kinsale last week - staff and residents had a great time. The new mini bus is proving a great addition to the Foyer and we hope to get plenty of use from it for trips over the summer. Thanks to our lovely student Roisin for doing up the photos - looks great!!

The Cork Foyer staff team are delighted to announce that we will be managing a new Supported Student Accommodation project in Bishopstown. We are working with Cork City Council, Tulsa and Focus Ireland to provide accommodation for young people in further and higher level education. The first students will be moving in next month and we are hoping this project will be successful in preventing homelessness and housing instability among young people and those leaving care. https://twitter.com/corkcitycouncil/status/869118379365466112

If you are on Twitter follow us @Cork_Foyer for all the tweets!!

We have been unbelievably busy at the Cork Foyer over the past two months. We have welcomed Roisin to the Foyer - she has joined us for her student placement all the way from Germany! Thankfully she speaks perfect English as our German is non-existent!! We also welcome two new residents to the Foyer this week - hope they settle in well. Our Great to Train programme is almost finished. We have had amazing success with uptake of courses and awarding of certs. Almost 250 certs achieved in a range of courses from First Aid, HACCP, Manual Handling and SafePass. We are delighted with the outcomes achieved and hope Pobal will be as pleased!

It is all kicking off here tomorrow from 12:00 until 16:00 when our very own Denis Murphy gives a horticultural demonstration out in our garden and later a cookery demo making the best use of OFFAL ! This is all part of the Corks " Life long learning festival " Do come along it is completely free and we would love to see you all

Check it out.... the new Cork Foyer mini bus. Delivered only yesterday and bought with help from the JP McManus Fund, Sisters of Charity Solidarity Fund and the Cork City Council. It will allow staff at the Foyer organise trips, help residents when moving and engage with community activities. A huge thanks to everyone who made this possible!!

A very Happy Christmas morning from all here on the North side of the city . One of the wonders of working on Christmas eve Night is that you get to see strange things in the sky :-) A big thank you to Tommy Kelleher for use of his photo

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year. A huge thanks to everyone who have supported the Cork Foyer staff and residents in 2016. All the staff from other homeless services,Tulsa, Cork City Council, Churchfield Community Trust and all the other support, educational and addiction services we work with.

A massive thank you to the staff of Oxford International who donated a Christmas gift box for each resident living at the Cork Foyer. Thanks to Nick and Ciara for playing Santa and delivering the presents to the Foyer!! The generosity of people at this time of year is much appreciated.