A community group in Co Tyrone has been at the forefront of helping local people get into work for more than 25 years.
The Strabane Community Unemployment Group was first set up in 1996, with coordinator Perpetula Foley saying it plays a vital role for those who need it in the area.
Strabane and the wider district council area has one of the lowest employment rates in Northern Ireland.
The group’s coordinator says much of its work is helping people to achieve basic education levels to make them employable, and works alongside the nearby North West Regional College.
“We hit all the outer areas like Castlederg, Dunamanagh as well as Strabane town,” Perpetual told MyTyrone.
“Without English or Maths you really can’t get a job, so we do those up to GCSE level.
“Children who leave school without those qualifications cannot get a job, they can’t move on to university or unemployment.
“Here is a stepping stone for them to move on.”
Perpetual added her drive to help the local community into employment comes from wanting people in the Strabane area to have a better quality of life.
Many of the people that attend the community group are parents who want to improve their children’s lives as well as their own.
She added: “My background is in mental health and I’ve worked with the homeless before, so my drive comes from wanting people to have a better quality of life.
“We work within the Neighbourhood Renewal Area, 80% of our people would come from areas of high deprivation and poverty.
“It’s not only themselves but their children as well that are affected through it.
As well as education courses, the Strabane group also holds activities for parents and their children every year to support shared learning.
Perpetula said the thanks she gets from local people after they have gone out and found a job afterwards is the most rewarding part.
“Other local people getting jobs in different areas, they will always come back and thank you for the support and help they received.
“We just keep going and I always say you have to take every day as it comes.”
