St Vincent's Trust is a non-profit, community education service of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul located in the north inner city area of Dublin. The aim of the organisation is to support people of all ages who have experienced educational disadvantage, as one aspect of wider social exclusion.

We enable them to address and realise their personal learning goals, so as to more fully participate in, and to contribute to, their community and to wider society.

Based on a model of integrated services provision, St Vincent's Trust operates the following five discrete services:

• St Mary's Day Nursery offers early education and childcare to 52 young children aged between 3 months and 5 years from low-income families.
• The Henrietta Street School, a high support school recognised  by the Department of Education and Science, provides opportunities for 20 children at-risk, aged between 11 and 15 years, to develop their intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical and creative selves.
• St Vincent's Community Training Centre which supports 60 early school leavers and other vulnerable young people, aged 15 years and upwards, through a programme of vocational training and personal development support.
• The Henrietta Adult and Community Education (HACE) service which facilitates second-chance learning opportunities for approximately 300 adults wishing to return to education.
• The Dominican Day Centre of St Vincent's Trust which caters for 125 senior citizens through a programme of food-based, educational, health-related, outreach, social and pastoral activities.

Our Mission

Inspired by the spirit that has animated the Daughters of Charity, St. Vincent's Trust is a community education agency that works for positive social change.

The VISION of St. Vincent's Trust is of a society where each person can exercise his/her rights and responsibilities to fully participate in education, work and family and community life.  We believe that this requires a model of partnership in which both the causes and effects of poverty and injustice are successfully addressed.

The MISSION of St. Vincent's Trust is, through its work, to strengthen our community and to encourage individuals and families, particularly those most marginalised, to achieve their full potential.

We do this through our COMMITMENT to:

• Provide, in a flexible way, accessible opportunities for learning and personal growth
• Respect the dignity and uniqueness of each person who engages with us
• Offer a supportive and caring environment
• Achieve excellence in the quality of our services
• Work in partnership with others to remove obstacles to full participation
• Use our experience as a means of influencing changes in social policy for the people we work with
• Foster an organisation that behaves in a way consistent with our shared vision and mission

Our History and Development

Founded in 1975 and located in Henrietta Street in Dublin's north inner city, St. Vincent's Trust follows in the rich tradition of services provided by the Daughters of Charity to the people of the area, dating back to the end of the nineteenth century.
 
Originally established as a day drop-in service to meet the welfare needs of homeless people, the Trust developed in response to the changing needs of presenting young homeless into a pre-vocational training centre for vulnerable youth - what was to be the precursor of the Community Training Workshop movement in Ireland. 

The Community Training Centre  of St. Vincent's Trust has evolved over the years to provide an extensive programme of education, training and personal development activities aimed at progressing 60 young people onto further education, training or employment, whilst endeavouring to support them in developing essential life skills and an enhanced sense of personal self-worth.

The service is funded primarily by FAS, with financial support also given by the Health Service Executive (Local Health Office Dublin North West) and the Probation and Welfare Service of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

In 1995, the Trust was requested by the Department of Education and Science to initiate a special education response to the needs of younger children at-risk than those being catered for by the CTC service.  The Special Education Project  was piloted for a three-year period based on an educational approach that sought to support the social and personal well-being of the children, as well as their academic needs.  This educational model for engagement with 20 children at-risk has been officially recognised by Government through its continued funding of the school which was subsequently renamed as the Henrietta Street School.

In proximity to these developments in Henrietta Street is the long-established service of St. Mary's Day Nursery, founded in 1922 as one of the first accredited nurseries of the new State.  Today, the service operates a total preschool nursery for 52 children from three-months to school-going age from low-income families referred by the local public health team.  The service is funded by the Health Service Executive (Local Health Office Dublin North  West) and by the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

In January 2002, a new service, the Henrietta Adult and Community Education Service, was established with the aim of supporting the learning needs of adults wishing to return to education.  This service arose in response both to a locally identified need for a community-based adult education service in the area, as well as from the organisation's critical reflection on the impacts of inter-generational educational disadvantage in the community.

HACE offers an extensive evening programme of part-time courses and activities for over 300 adults, four nights weekly. It also provides rooms and other supports to local adult education providers who lack accommodation to operate their services.

HACE is funded primarily by the City of Dublin Vocational Educational Committee through an annualised grant.

The most recent service development of St Vincent's Trust occurred in July 2004 when, after a two-year period of management support, we took over responsibility for the operation of the Dominican Day Centre for senior citizens from the Dominican Community in the parish.  Today, this service caters for approximately 125 older persons through a programme of food, educational, health-related, outreach, social and pastoral activities.

The service is funded primarily by the Health Service Executive (Local Health Office Dublin North Central) and some private donors.

At the time of writing, St Vincent's Trust has been selected by an inter-agency group to be the Management Agency for a new community development initiative aimed at supporting the needs of local communities resident in the adjacent 10 local authority flat complexes. 

The Good Neighbours Close To Town Community Development Project will commence in March 2006 and has been funded for a phase one 18-month period under the Dormant Accounts Fund.

The expansion of existing services and the development of new services in St Vincent's Trust over the last number of years was made possible in large measure through a €6.5 million capital investment programme by our sponsoring Government Departments and the Daughters of Charity in 2000/2001 which enabled us to refurbish the two Georgian buildings in nos. 8 and 9 Henrietta Street, as well constructing a new purpose-built vocational training and early education facility at the rear of No. 9.

Today, St Vincent's Trust caters for over 550 adults, youth and children who participate in its various services on a full-time or part-time basis.

In 2004, St Vincent's Trust had a combined income of E2,017,246, the bulk of which was provided through its sponsoring Government Departments and statutory agencies.  The organisation employs a total of 50 staff and is supported in its works by a group of dedicated volunteers.

The Daughters of Charity are the Trustees of St Vincent's Trust which is governed by a Corporate Board of Management, with the individual services being governed by an Executive Board of Management.

How To Contact Us

St Vincent's Trust
8/9 Henrietta Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8874100.
Fax: 01-8723486
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Website: www.svt.ie

 Director of Services:  Mr. Mark Hogan.
St Mary's Day Nursery
9 Henrietta Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8874116.
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Manager:  Ms. Sheila Carroll.
Henrietta Street School
8 Henrietta Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8874127.
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Principal:  Mr Fergus Carpenter.
St Vincent's Community Training Centre
9 Henrietta Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8874104.
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Manager:  Mr. Ken Smartt.
Henrietta Adult and Community Education Service
9 Henrietta Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8874129.
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Co-ordinator:  Ms. Valerie Bowe.
Dominican Day Centre of St Vincent's Trust
31a Upper Dominick Street,
Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01-8305340.
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Manager:  Sr. Nora O'Sullivan DC