Praxis Care
Encyclopedia
Praxis Care is the largest charity based in Northern Ireland
, an amalgamation of four charities which has its headquarters in Belfast
. Four charities initially made up the former Praxis Care Group - Praxis Mental Health, for those experiencing mental ill health such as clinical depression
or schizophrenia
; Respond, for older people including those suffering from dementia
; Challenge, which deals with service users with learning disabilities
; and the Northern Ireland Agoraphobia
and Anxiety
Society (although this is a separate charity in its own right, Praxis provides management and support to it).
Praxis Care provides a range of accommodation and support services for services users, including residential and supported living, domiciliary care, floating support, home response, drop-in centres, an advocacy project, a befriending department and workskills projects. Praxis Care has a dedicated in-house research
department which monitors issues as diverse as staff and service user satisfaction and the evaluation of schemes, as well as doing research into relevant issues. The organisation also has its own in-house staff development department, which is responsible for regularly inducting new staff and for providing other relevant training, primarily though not exclusively to ensure that care staff are adequately trained for their work, which can involve dealing with complex needs and challenging behaviours. Other departments include Quality and Governance, Human Resources
, Development
, Finance
, Fundraising / PR and Administration.
The organisation runs schemes across Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man
, England
and the Republic of Ireland
, and is constantly developing.
Praxis Care is headed up by Chief Executive Nevin Ringland, who founded the original Praxis Mental Health in 1981. He is supported by a team of Directors and Assistant Directors. All in all, the organisation employs about 1,200 people, the majority of whom are in care roles although a significant minority are involved in support services.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, an amalgamation of four charities which has its headquarters in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. Four charities initially made up the former Praxis Care Group - Praxis Mental Health, for those experiencing mental ill health such as clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
or schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
; Respond, for older people including those suffering from dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
; Challenge, which deals with service users with learning disabilities
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
; and the Northern Ireland Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
and Anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
Society (although this is a separate charity in its own right, Praxis provides management and support to it).
Praxis Care provides a range of accommodation and support services for services users, including residential and supported living, domiciliary care, floating support, home response, drop-in centres, an advocacy project, a befriending department and workskills projects. Praxis Care has a dedicated in-house research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
department which monitors issues as diverse as staff and service user satisfaction and the evaluation of schemes, as well as doing research into relevant issues. The organisation also has its own in-house staff development department, which is responsible for regularly inducting new staff and for providing other relevant training, primarily though not exclusively to ensure that care staff are adequately trained for their work, which can involve dealing with complex needs and challenging behaviours. Other departments include Quality and Governance, Human Resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
, Development
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
, Finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, Fundraising / PR and Administration.
The organisation runs schemes across Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and is constantly developing.
Praxis Care is headed up by Chief Executive Nevin Ringland, who founded the original Praxis Mental Health in 1981. He is supported by a team of Directors and Assistant Directors. All in all, the organisation employs about 1,200 people, the majority of whom are in care roles although a significant minority are involved in support services.