Tar Isteach North Belfast

Advice provision is essential in the high deprivation and high benefit take up areas of North Belfast.  Welfare Rights/Benefits Advice is very often the first point of call in the transition from benefits to employment.  It is a long-term ongoing process requiring an interlinking conduit that can be depended on and trusted.

The Tar Isteach advice service is based at 133 Hillman Street, which has been renovated to improve disabled access.  An office is rented in the Amach Agus Isteach ex-prisoners building in Ardoyne for the use of the counselling service and the advice service.  An advice outreach clinic is held once a week in Marrowbone Community House, Oldpark Road and in the INTERCOMM cross community project on the Antrim Road.  The project also offers an outreach and home visit service for disabled, sick, lone parents and elderly clients.

Each year our General Advice Worker and volunteer advice worker Liz Devenney sees over 2500 clients and deals with up to 4000 queries.  They advise on all aspects of social benefits, employment, health referral, housing, homelessness, bereavement, money advice and debt, and outreach.  On average more than £500,000 is recovered in benefits for clients each year.  There has been year on year increase in the number of clients seen and queries managed since the project was set up.    

North Belfast Advice Partnership (NBAP)

Tar Isteach has taken a proactive stance in engaging in cross community projects that have paved the way for cooperation between the communities in North Belfast.  This is especially evident in its membership of the North Belfast Advice Partnership (NBAP) which includes the Ligoniel Improvement Association Advice Centre, the Lower North Belfast Community Council Advice Centre, The Vine Community Advice Centre, Ardoyne Advice Centre, The Ballysillan Community Forum Advice Centre and North Belfast Citizens Advice Bureau.  The partnership was set up to provide non partisan, independent advice, information, support and advocacy for North Belfast, whilst promoting community relations, equal opportunities and challenging discrimination.   It is funded by the North Belfast Action Unit (Dunlop Report) and the Belfast City Council.