Our Work

We are committed to developing a long-term plan based on extensive research and development carried out since we were founded in 1999.  In this plan we:

• Work with all generations (and children yet unborn) to break the cycle of involvement in crime and subsequent imprisonment.
• Utilise a unique and distinctive design, developed largely in house and informed by research, practice and sound theoretical models from a wide variety of sources, to address our unique needs.
• Identify potential that resides in communities and enable it to flower to the fullest degree, utilising healing strategies that yield results that are far-reaching and wide-ranging.

In effecting the above our theory of change undergoes continual development, utilising phenomena that are universal in our emotional and feeling world.  We acknowledge their importance for both understanding and describing how we grow and develop.  This, in turn, assists us in building solutions to problems that cause a lot of distress not only to families in our focus group but to society in general.

Who is Bedford Row for?

Bedford Row reaches out to families, and in particular children:

• Whose families may have been affected by imprisonment for generations.
• That may present in school etc. as angry, fearful, anxious, aggressive, and/or in crisis.
• Whose development may be impaired by misuse of alcohol and/or drugs in their homes.
• That suffer loss, i.e., are bereaved by tragedy within their family or extended family, perhaps a number of times.
• That may be isolated in their communities and whose vast potential might be wasted on destructive pursuits as they reach their teens. 

Why do we do it?

Bedford Row is motivated to do this because:

• Our landmark research Voices of Families Affected by Imprisonment (published in 2008 – but still as relevant today as it ever was) pointed us in the direction of action in this regard  (See our Research link to read this).
• We have had significant success in improving the lives of people involved in crime, drugs etc. many of whom have struggled for many years, and we are determined to build on this success.
• We believe that solutions to these very challenging problems will come from people most affected who are passionate, motivated and involved over a significant amount of time.

How do we achieve this?

A wide variety of Support Work is ongoing, reaching out to:

• Senior members of families who are often a fount of wisdom and experience.
• Parents who may have experienced difficult times themselves and are worried about their children and teenagers; to assist them in parenting in a constructive and nurturing way.
• Children and teenagers who are at risk of dropping out or have already dropped out of mainstream supports in society.
• People who struggle with addiction, mental health problems, emotional distress, who may be facing a court appearance, who are currently in prison – or who have been – and are motivated to embrace their responsibilities with respect to sobriety, parenting, family life, employment etc.

Much of our work involves listening, and addressing difficult emotions such as guilt, shame and anger with the long-term aim of working through such emotions so that they do not get in the way of positive experiences in life.

Who Works in Bedford Row?

The Bedford Row Worker or Volunteer, typically is:

• Highly motivated – and wants to do something positive for their family and community.
• Generous spirited, energetic, and likes a bit of hard work!
• Curious, and open to new learning, listening, and observing.
• Committed to creativity, inclusiveness, and boundedness.

And most of all……………….

• Concerned that many initiatives in this area struggle to reach those who are most in need of intervention 

If you would like to be involved in this exciting work you can contact us:

Tel:         061 315332          Web:     www.bedfordrow.ie       E-Mail: info@bedfordrow.ie

 “The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes”
Marcel Proust