Welcome to the Breaking Through Website

The primary function of Breaking Through, also referred to as “The Network”, is to provide support and support mechanisms for practitioners working primarily directly or indirectly with young people at risk.

We also influence policy makers in developing appropriate policies that promote good practice for working with young people. However, membership is open to all practitioners and volunteers working with other vulnerable or disadvantaged members of the community.

How Breaking Through Operates

As an organisation, we do not provide direct service for young people or adults or any face to face support for disadvantaged or vulnerable people. Our purpose is to facilitate our members, the practitioners and volunteers, by providing better opportunities and support so they in turn can provide a better service for the people with whom they work. Our role is to coordinate and develop stronger links for practitioners working at the cold face throughout Ireland. This is achieved through the development and promotion of best practice and by promoting public awareness on issues pertaining to the lives of young people at risk and other disadvantaged members of society.

The Breaking Through Network

An overall profile of our members represents a cross section of  policy makers and individuals including Youth Workers, Care Workers, Social Workers, Community Workers, people working in Health Promotion, Drug Task Force Workers, Juvenile Liaison Officers, Education & Welfare Officers, Youthreach Tutors, Traveller Training Workers, Residential Care Workers, Teachers and people working in Partnership Programmes. Many of these professionals and volunteers often work in isolation and sometimes experience difficulties in delivering comprehensive responses to the growing needs of the people with whom they work.  Some are working in single worker projects or perhaps part of very small staff core teams where there are limited budgets or management systems for staff training and development. Others may work in large organisations where there are already support structures in place but often times find they benefit from an external support system and the shared experiences of interagency collaboration. Breaking Through has proven to be a vital link in providing a support Network for these workers who deal directly with the client group. What makes Breaking Through useful is its holistic approach in supporting practitioners and therefore enabling them to provide more coordinated support to the people at risk with whom they work.