Positive Futures

02/06/2026

Meet our advisory board✨!

We recently came together for our Advisory Board meeting, made up of staff and people we support and one message came through loud and clear: listening to and valuing people’s voices makes a real difference.

💬 Key themes from the discussion included:
Putting people first – continuing to build more person-centred support where choice, independence and individuality are at the heart of everything we do.
Being heard – ensuring people we support have meaningful ways to share feedback and influence decisions.
Looking ahead – shaping the future of Positive Futures, including characteristics that are important in finding our new Chief Executive and maintaining the values that matter most. The board decided that our next leader needs to be nice, kind and polite, a good listener, honest and approachable but firm and assertive when it matters 💛.
Learning & growth – improving access to training, advocacy and opportunities for development.

👏 A huge thank you to all members for sharing their experiences, ideas and ambitions so openly. Your voices are helping to shape a stronger, more inclusive future.

28/05/2026

Respect. Inclusion. Accountability.

These are the values at the heart of the Positive Futures Welcome Award, recognising organisations that go the extra mile to ensure people with an intellectual disability, acquired brain injury or autism feel truly welcomed and valued in their communities🥰.

That’s why we’re proud to celebrate Enda Leonard who runs EL-Fitness Studio in Kinnegad with the Positive Futures Welcome Award👏. Enda has created a space where three people from our Cluain Farm Supported Living Service feel respected, included and encouraged to achieve their goals. For Aoife, James and Kevin, these sessions aren’t just about fitness, they’re about building confidence, connection and belonging.

Thank you, Enda, for living the spirit of the Welcome Award and adapting your sessions for the people we support, a true advocate of person-centred support 🙌.

27/05/2026

“If we expect person‑centred practice in services, we must model it in our teams.” Paul Roberts, Managing Director, Positive Futures 💬

We’ve been deepening our person‑centred practice across our teams through bespoke sessions with Helen Sanderson MBE over the past few months. From this work, our Operations Team, alongside Service Managers and Deputies, turned learning into action 💪, using tension cards to shape a shared meeting agreement that reflects how we want to collaborate, communicate and support one another. Because when our teams come together, creating a psychologically safe environment, where everyone feels supported to contribute, connect and work towards a shared goal 🤝.

As we continue this journey, we’re guided by a simple belief:
“When we use the language of relationships, possibility and home, we begin to build services and lives that reflect those things.” ✨

👉 Read more on our person-centred approach: https://ow.ly/U6N750Z4EAc

29/04/2026

National Workplace Wellbeing Day 💚

Today we’re celebrating the people who make Positive Futures such a special place to work.
Workplace wellbeing is about more than benefits or policies, it’s about feeling supported, valued and able to be yourself. Listening to our team say, in their own words, what Positive Futures means to them reminds us just how powerful that culture really is 💫.

Because when our people are supported to thrive, the people we support feel the difference too.

We are always on the look out for values-led, likeminded individuals to join our team. For all our current vacancies, please see: https://ow.ly/8hEB50YRzm1

26/04/2026

A fantastic week across our services North and South with Sinead, a person we support from our NAHVI service in Donabate who made the Meath Chronicle attending the launch of Ablefest -an Inclusive Music and Arts festival at the Fairyhouse Racecourse in Co. Kerry. She was treated to performances from Jake Carter and Mundy both of whom are part of this year’s line-up in July.

And in our Ormiston Supported living Service, Service Manager Sophie is immensely proud of the work her team have done with Timmy supporting his prep to go under anaesthetic for his dental procedure. Staff supported him with fasting, getting him up and ready and out early. Here is he waiting, very contently, in his car ahead of the treatment at the School of Dentistry.

And finally, how great that Ian from our Willows Supported Living Service could enjoy the stunning Portstewart strand with their fantastic accessible beach maintained by the National Trust - Portstewart Strand.

24/04/2026

Really great session delivered by Helen Sanderson with the Positive Futures team on person‑centred thinking, planning and practices.

This was a brilliant opportunity to reflect on working collaboratively, consolidating our strengths and values, and keeping people at the centre of everything we do.

Thanks Helen for such a thoughtful, practical session, lots of insights we’ll be carrying forward into our day‑to‑day practice.

20/04/2026

Positive Futures in full bloom🌻

It’s been a busy and inspiring few weeks across our services in the south of Ireland, with lots of moments that reflect the impact of our support and the dedication of our teams.

Great to see Julie from our Homeshare service in Co. Meath sharing some photos from a fun day at the local fair. Meanwhile Fergal from our NAHVI service, enjoyed travelling by train to attend an event in Dublin, while Stephen made the most of the good weather with a scenic visit to Ardgillan Castle.

In our Saol Beo Supported Living Service in Co. Leitrim, Sharon had a brilliant weekend too enjoying a live music show in Sligo🎤, whilst Brenda opted for a quieter weekend at home practicing her baking skills. Then we had Ann Marie getting out and enjoying a beautiful walk in the sun☀️!

In Co. Meath, Cluain Farm Supported Living Service, shared another productive week with Aiofe enjoying baking and Kieran enjoying some well deserved coffee ☕following a spring clean of his office!

These moments, big and small, show what can be achieved through supportive relationships, choice and opportunity. Thank you to all of you who continue to support us and ensuring the people we support live the life they want ✨.

14/04/2026

Words matter. Lives matter.

For 30 years, Positive Futures has believed that support should fit around people, not the other way around.

In this reflective blog, our Executive Director Paul Roberts explores why the language we use in social care isn’t just descriptive, it actively shapes people’s lives, choices and opportunities.

Person‑centred practice asks something deeper of us. It challenges us to move from “doing for” to “doing with”, to organise support around people’s lives, relationships and aspirations rather than fitting people into what systems already offer.

That belief has shaped Positive Futures since 1995. It’s also why ideas from SocialCareFuture and Gloriously Ordinary Lives resonate so strongly with us: because changing practice requires us first to change the story we tell, about care, about support, and about people.

👉 Read Paul’s full blog: https://ow.ly/bcZ950YIGkH

I sometimes feel as though I’ve spent more than thirty years trying to unpick the meanings of words most people take for granted. “Care.” “Support.” “Service user.” Words that slip off the tongue yet carry assumptions about the people they describe and those doing the describing. My jo...

13/04/2026

Weekly roundup✨...

It’s been another fantastic week for the people we support making the most of the sunny spells! Great to see Andy and Fergal from NAHVI, Donabate, out enjoying a dog walk in the great outdoors at New Bridge Park in Malahide last week. The sunshine really gave us all a spring in our step, and it was lovely to see them making the most of the fresh air together.

Meanwhile John, from Cluain Farm Supported living Service in Co. Meath, had a wonderful time on a trip to Co. Leitrim. He enjoyed his breakfast with a stunning view of the lake before heading off to visit the Poll an Easa Waterfall-what a way to start the day!

24/03/2026

📢 We have some news...

After more than 30 years of extraordinary leadership, our Founder and Chief Executive, Dr Agnes Lunny OBE, will retire at the end of this year.

Her vision in establishing Positive Futures in 1995 helped shift learning/intellectual disability and social care practice away from institutional models and towards person-centred, rights based, community support, a journey described in her 30 year anniversary reflections.

Read full statement: https://ow.ly/80o450YygmI