Sustainability Graduate Spotlight - Lesley Barrett
Students around Ireland and globally are leaders in advocating for social justice and demanding climate action so it’s important that their universities are also leading by example. Technological University Dublin and their former institutes, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Dublin Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tallaght has long been running degrees in Social Care. These courses teach about supporting some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged members of our community, understanding their rights and needs and advocating for justice.
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pledges to ‘leave no one behind’. A central ambition would have all UN Member States commit to the cessation of discrimination and exclusion, and the reduction of inequalities and vulnerabilities for those left furthest behind. This edition of the Sustainability Spotlight Series focuses on SDG 5: Gender Equality. In Ireland, more than half (52%) of women and 28% of men reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime (Central Statistics Office, 2022). We’re shining a spotlight on TU Dublin Applied Social Care (TU997), Graduate Lesley Barrett, who is the Refuge Assistant Manager with Saoirse Domestic Violence Services (SDVS).
Lesley Barrett
Lesley has always been passionate about empowering and supporting marginalised and underrepresented groups. When she was 15, she wanted to work with people who were marginalised and underrepresented, however, encouraged by her mother she took up a part time volunteer role instead. She volunteered at a summer camp at Cheeverstown House. It was a mixed camp for children with varying disabilities (‘differabilities’ is a word Lesley prefers to use) and children from the local area. Cheeverstown is a voluntary organisation that provides a range of residential, respite and day services to almost 400 children and adults with an intellectual disability.
Lesley ended up staying on with Cheeverstown as a volunteer for five years at the Wednesday Night Club. Speaking about her time at Cheeverstown she said:
it changed the trajectory of my life. It showed me first-hand of the positive difference, and joy, that could be brought to someone’s life with a little bit of support, encouragement and empowerment.
Lesley says that this experience taught her how to look at ways of doing things differently to be more inclusive. It shaped her as a person and how she views and interacts with the world.
Lesley has been a passionate advocate for survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), with a long-standing commitment to supporting victims and raising awareness. This led to her recent role as the Outreach, Prevention, and Training Lead with Saoirse Domestic Violence Services. Lesley is a Quality & Qualifications Ireland (QQI) qualified trainer, and she delivers talks and Continuing Professional Development accredited courses to professional bodies such as An Garda Síochána, Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, Dublin Airport Authority and South Dublin County Council as well as community organisations and front-line professionals.
Lesley is excited about the work she does in training others and finds this one of the most rewarding parts of her job. Telling us more about this Lesley said:
I feel knowledge is power. So many people don’t understand the complexities and nuances of Domestic Violence and Abuse. I love educating them and seeing the feedback where it’s evident they ‘get it’ now.
Lesley finds it incredibly rewarding when the training she delivers makes a personal impact. It has happened on some occasions that someone who has been at a training event afterwards makes a disclosure to Lesley about their own experiences of DVA. They say that they didn’t realise that certain behaviours were commonplace or they thought they were the only one who felt a certain way or experienced certain things, they suddenly feel seen and validated.
Educational Experience
Lesley decided to study social care because she wanted to put her passion into practice. She graduated with a degree in Applied Social Care from TU Dublin in 2020. Lesley enjoyed the practical nature of the course. Two extensive work placements allowed you to put theory into practice and develop your own professional practice methodologies. Lesley found the lecturers to be fantastic, and to have extensive experience in social care. Speaking of the programme Lesley said:
It wasn’t just ‘book-learning’. We had lecturers who were passionate and dedicated and could give us practical examples of how theory was applied in practice and how things worked in the real world. Good lecturers will bring out the best in their students, and we were lucky our TU Dublin lecturers were some of the best!
Lesley said that some of the lecturers had their own disabilities, which she found inspiring as it showed the class examples of how adaptation and support for someone can assist them in getting where they want to go. Lesley pointed out that this was a positive example for students in the class who perhaps had their own disabilities, and this helped them to feel empowered and supported.
Lesley is now taking up a temporary promotion in a new post in the role of Refuge Assistant Manager. This presents a new challenge and a new way of working with clients and colleagues. Lesley is excited and a little nervous about the move but feels confident with a good management team in place to support her with the transition.
Applying new skills and knowledge
Throughout the course Lesley picked up on a theoretical approach to working with people who need support to achieve psychological growth. She believes in an approach that is non-directive and allows time and space for the person to understand themselves more deeply. This is done by helping people reflect on their own experiences and in carefully clarifying questions they may have about themselves. Through this the person gains a clearer perception of themselves, leading to psychological growth. Lesley found that her lecturers modelled this approach in their teaching.
What does #TUDublinSustainability mean to you?
To me #TUDublinSustainability means longevity. Equipping learners with the knowledge and skills to have long lasting and rewarding careers while, encouraging the embedding of SDGs into every area of work, study and personal life in an effort to mitigate the global climate crisis.