One Family awarded contract for National Telephone Counselling Service for Crisis Pregnancy and Post-Abortion

[Dublin 4 September] Registered charity One Family has been appointed as the provider of the HSE’s National Telephone Counselling Service for Crisis Pregnancy and Post-Abortion. The service is due to start in 2019 and will provide a national counselling service to women experiencing an unplanned or crisis pregnancy. The appointment comes following a European wide e-tender process.

One Family CEO Karen Kiernan said: “One Family is delighted to build on our decades of experience in providing non-directive crisis pregnancy counselling to women, their partners or family members to ensure that women will have all the information and support they need when new legislation is enacted around the provision of abortion services in Ireland.”

The service will provide 20 hours of counselling by telephone per week. Whilst plans are still in development it is anticipated that this will primarily be delivered out of regular office hours. The Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme of the HSE undertook the commissioning of this service.

Whilst the maximum budget available for the 3 year service was €800K, One Family’s bid was significantly less than this. One Family has undertaken to provide four counsellors for the 20 hours per week as it is anticipated that demand will be high for this service.

Kiernan continued: “We look forward to working in partnership with the HSE’s Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme so we can ensure that high quality services are available to people around Ireland who require them in a time of crisis. The HSE’s planned national promotional campaign will ensure that clear accurate information will be widespread about when and how to access this new innovative service.”

Notes to Editor:

One Family, formerly Cherish, has over 46 years experience working with women experiencing a crisis or unplanned pregnancy. One Family has been providing expert training around the issues of crisis pregnancy, abortion and working with migrants to crisis pregnancy counsellors via Maynooth University over the past eight years.

For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie.

Available for Interview

Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191

Further Information/Scheduling

Noel Sweeney, Communications & Events Manager | t: 01 622 9212 or 085 7241294