Calendar of events to mark 40th anniversary of Prosper Meath

JOURNEY Organisation was founded as Meath Sheltered Workshop in 1982

Prosper Meath is preparing for six months of celebrations to mark its fortieth anniversary. The celebratory events will include the launch of a book looking back on the organisation's journey and various guises since 1982, the official opening of a new day service in Emmet Street, Trim, and the unveiling of a mosaic project in collaboration with Boyne Community College and Trim Men’s Shed.

The story began in 1982 when a group of concerned parents and friends met in Navan to discuss the lack of opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Meath.

From this Meath Sheltered Workshop began under the visionary leadership of Pat McElhinney, Jim Roche, Anne Blake, and Dr Michael Hayes. A workshop was established in Beechmount Industrial Estate with huge fundraising support from GAA clubs, the ICA, Navan Lions Club, Navan Rotary Club and others, opening in 1986.

The workshop was extended in 1993 and a Kells service first opened in 1996. The King/Queen of Tara Competition and the Workshop Christmas Bazaar were large events that many will remember from those years.

In the early 2000s, the organisation followed national best practice by turning to the person-centred model of service provision, to support our service users in their communities. To reflect this, the organisation was renamed MIDWAY - Meath Intellectual Disability Work Advocacy You in 2003. The smaller provider MTEC (Meath Training and Education Centre), merged with MIDWAY in 2004. During this decade the organisation opened new centres in Navan, Kells and Trim.

In 2015, after several years of negotiations, MIDWAY merged with Prosper Fingal, becoming Prosper Meath. Both organisations work in tandem as part of Prosper Group. A new service in Ashbourne was opened, while Prosper’s first capital project in Meath, on Watergate Street, Navan, opened in 2020.

This year, the latest development on Emmet Street, Trim, will open as part of the celebrations. There is still a strong Meath presence on the board of directors and committees, through Noel Hickey, Mary Walsh, Eamon Cooney and Dr John O’Connell.

Roisin Lacey of Prosper Meath says: "We are excited and proud to mark this important event and look forward to thanking all those who contributed to the organisation which today provides services and supports to over 200 individuals with an intellectual disability across the county. The people we support will be at the heart of the celebratory events, many of whom have been with the organisation since its early days. This anniversary is also an opportunity to thank those who have supported us over the years, notably the parents and families of the people we support and the HSE. In addition, we hope that the wider community and all have been associated with us over the last 40 years will be able to celebrate with us.

“Community support and engagement has been a constant part of our story over the last four decades, and we hope that this celebration will also invite those who are unfamiliar with Prosper Meath to learn more about what we do."

Already, as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, Prosper Meath launched an energy management and sustainability initiative in the Headfort Arms Hotel, Kells.

Early last year, Prosper was awarded a grant by the HSE to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of the organisation. Prosper is included in public sector energy reduction reports by the SEAI and they are committed to playing their part towards this agenda.

The EMS project continues to be funded through grants from the HSE and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) alongside actual savings in energy usage.

Prosper has set up a working group, the energy management and sustainability team, along with a green team in each Prosper day centre across the towns of Kells, Trim, Navan and Ashbourne. Each of Prosper’s services is working to make changes, be it through building improvements, behaviour change, or both. Service users are at the heart of this initiative, and take such pride in making their local service and community greener.

Pat Reen, CEO of Prosper Meath, said he was proud of the responsibility and ownership that each individual supported by Prosper, alongside staff, are taking through their local Prosper green teams.

Paula Carey, who is chairperson of Prosper Meath's board of directors, added: "This is a good news story of not only sustainability, but also inclusion. With almost 70 staff supporting 204 service users across 12 buildings, it is a positive story for reducing the carbon footprint in the Meath area."