The development of an infrastructure team was the inevitable outcome of a rapidly growing project that was diversifying its interests in the community and identifying gaps in existing provision for the children and their parents in the Greater Shankill Area.

When the infrastructure team became functional in early June 1997 it was significant that most if not all of the members of that team had worked as home visiting project workers. This enables a comprehensive understanding of gaps in the service and the many problems more particular to the Greater Shankill Area to be fully identified. It is envisaged that the infrastructure team will be the arm of the project taking all the vital information from home visiting teams and will integrate it in a response to the many problems faced by parents and children in the area. This brief of working in a integrated way across the whole area will be important in developing sustainability for new networks that should emerge over the next couple of years.

I have recently taken up the post for the leader as team infrastructure development and I view this role as an exciting and challenging opportunity which will enable me to focus on the overall development and the Project's aims. I am looking forward to prospect of having responsibility of line managing a skilled team with all its abilities and knowledge.

My immediate aim is to maintain the already excellent relationship that has been established with the community infrastructure by the home visiting team leaders and build upon this strong platform which has been created to effectively address the needs of participating parents and children as and when these needs arise.

I see the infrastructure team as a natural progression for the project at this stage. I now look forward to the forging of links being made locally, regionally, nationally and trans-nationally. The team will be a vital and integral cog in the wheel of the Early Years Project.

Richard Mealey
Team Leader