A critical assessment of Spéire Nua’s work to reintegrate people with criminal histories into rural society (SPN)

Description

Spéire Nua’s work directly addresses the core issues of social exclusion and vulnerability that SERIGO is concerned with. Although not exclusively focused on rural populations, Spéire Nua operates in a rural area and is incubated within the larger rural social enterprise Amicitia, based in Athenry, Co. Galway. Consequently, many of those who benefit from their services are rural residents.

Spéire Nua particularly provides services to individuals in peripheral areas, who lack access to the same level of services as those in urban areas. People with criminal histories are one group who have been identified as being especially socially excluded in rural areas (cf. Huebner et al, 2019; Ward and Merlo, 2016; Beichner and Rabe-Hemp, 2014).

Aim

The SPN case study seeks to answer the following research question: what challenges and opportunities have Spéire Nua encountered in helping people with criminal histories in rural Ireland access the labour market and reintegrate into their communities?