Key support service available for thousands of Irish people who were ‘boarded out’ as children
Barnardos aim to transform the lives of individuals who are affected by adverse childhood experiences.
Children’s charity Barnardos is urging people across the country to avail of their new service.
The Boarded Out Practical Support Service for Adults is open to all those who were ‘boarded out’ as children up until the introduction of the 1991 Child Care Act. The term is used to describe children who were fostered or raised with families other than their own in Ireland, though there was also a practice of being nursed out, where infants were placed with women who could care for them.
While the exact number of people affected is unknown, *data indicates that between 20,000 to 30,000 children were boarded out between the years 1920 - 1970.
In some cases, babies and infants were placed with families who were responsible for their care by the State. Older children were mainly boarded out on farms in rural areas, but they were also placed in homes in larger towns and cities. Some children had to carry out unpaid farm and domestic work that was not appropriate for their age and were even kept out of school to carry out this work.
Many people still alive in Ireland today can attest to just how common this was, sadly — including 82 year old **Noel, a man who has been greatly helped by Barnardos’ new service.
Noel was born in a mother and baby institution and never knew his birth family. The institution sent him to live in rural Ireland, where he was regularly kept home from school to work on the farm there.
When he did attend school, he struggled in class and was slapped by the teacher for making mistakes, causing him to leave school aged 13. Noel continued to work unpaid on the farm until he was 16 and moved to England.
Over 60 years later, Noel contacted Barnardos Boarded Out Practical Support Service to help source his birth information. When he first reached out to the charity, Noel was struggling with living alone. He felt isolated and had difficulty cooking his meals and carrying out household chores. It was Barnardos Community Worker Carol who helped support him. She contacted the local primary care team to advocate for a home care package for Noel and arrange for Meals on Wheels to be delivered daily.
While Carol’s visits helped Noel feel less alone, she also put him in touch with local groups. Noel now has a social outlet where he’s connected to his community.
Natalie Johnson, Project Coordinator for the Boarded Out Practical Support Service, says there are many others like Noel out there that Barnardos want to help.
“From speaking with people who have been boarded out as children, it’s clear how this early experience can have a lasting impact throughout their lives,” she shares. “For some people, the trauma of early separation from their mothers, and the subsequent experience of abuse, missed educational opportunities, forced labour, stigma and issues around identity associated with being boarded out can have lifelong consequences. Our service can offer support to those who need it, because childhood lasts a lifetime.”
To ensure their efforts are as far-reaching as possible, Barnardos has centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway, offering a wide range of practical supports to people who were boarded out.
These practical supports include:
- Support to access health, community and social services
- Support with isolation and loneliness
- Assistance in filling out forms and grant applications
- Advocacy, information and signposting
- Referral to Barnardos therapeutic supports
If you or somebody close to you was boarded out as a child and would like to avail of practical support, please reach out to Barnardos. The Boarded Out Practical Support Service has been funded by Tusla Dormant Accounts and is free and confidential.
The service can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: birthhistory@barnardos.ie
Or contact Barnardos' centres directly:
Christchurch Square, Dublin 8 D08 DT63 and 23/24 Buckingham Street Lower, Dublin 1. Tel: (01) 813 4100
Blackmore House, Meade Street, Cork. Tel: (021) 203 8005
The Sanctuary, 27 Chois Chlair, Claregalway. Tel: (091) 454489
Find out more at www.barnardos.ie
