Cura, the Catholic crisis pregnancy support agency, is significantly changing availability of its services due to increased online demand .
A 2015 review found that 79 per cent of Cura clients were under 35 and there had been an exponential increase in online contact. Website visits grew by 150 per cent in two years, from 10,563 in 2013 to 26,342 in 2015. By contrast, between 2011 and 2015 there was a 25 per cent drop in face-to-face client contacts, from 848 to 622.
At 41 per cent, the internet is now by far the single greatest referral source for new Cura clients, with over half of new users visiting the site via tablet or smartphone.
All services will now be delivered through four main hubs, in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford. Outreach centres will be in the Louth-Monaghan area, Sligo and Tallaght. However, centres in Kilkenny, Tralee, Ennis, Thurles, Limerick, Athlone, and Wexford will close.
Cura president Bishop Éamonn Walsh said that, as it enters its 40th year, Cura is evaluating how best to meet access needs of clients in an environment very different to that of 1977. “The client is at the centre of our work and Cura must continue to be accessible to all clients.”
Funded by the HSE and the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Cura’s services are free and confidential.
