A project aimed at breaking the cycle of unemployment among young people in the Lower Ormeau area has been awarded a major grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
The Lower Ormeau Residents’ Action Group is one of thirteen projects across Northern Ireland, awarded grants totalling over £5million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out: Empowering Young People programme, supporting young people most at risk in Northern Ireland, including those who have been disengaged from education, involved in crime or in care.
The Residents’ Group been awarded a grant of £457,999 to get local young people aged 14-20 out of bed, off the streets and involved in a range of activities to improve their confidence, self esteem and employability. These will include vocational and accredited courses, work experience and voluntary work.
Gerard Rice, Centre Community Facilities Manager, said: “This project will address a culture of underachievement and a perception that the benefit trap is `cool.’
“Some of these young people may not have experienced anyone in their family being in work. They may be engaging in risk taking behaviour and many will have already come to the attention of the youth justice agencies.
“We hope this project will give them positive opportunities to engage with their community and local employers and give them a good start in life.”
To support them, the young people will be offered counselling and mentoring services. A youth drop-in facility will open at the Shaftesbury Community and Recreation Centre to encourage young people to stay off the streets and out of trouble. Incentives like go-karting and paintballing will keep them engaged in the project.
Gerard said the project would also help ease tensions between local young people and a growing ethnic minority community.
“A focused programme of mentoring, support and capacity building will not only improve the young person’s confidence, self-esteem and employability but will reintegrate them into their community and build acceptance of other cultures,” he said.
“This project will give them confidence, skills and opportunities so they no longer think that nobody cares about where they are going.”
Other projects awarded funding include Reconcillation Education and Community Training (REACT), which has been awarded £292,917 to run activities for young people aged 10-20, helping them develop personally and socially. Programmes will include health awareness, creative arts, anger managerment and outdoor education
And Something Special is using £480,290 to develop a training and employment programme for young people with a disability aged between 14-20, using music and the arts to help them gain qualification. They will be supported as they move into adulthood to set goals for further education training, volunteering and employment.
Visit our website to see other projects that have been funded:
Northern Ireland groups enjoy £604k windfall
Vincent Ward is looking forward to getting his hands dirty in a project supported by the Big Lottery Fund for men, who like Vincent, have acquired brain injury.
The Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All small grants programme is awarding Headway Newry a grant of £9,600 as part of a grants roll-out of £604,181 to 69 groups across Northern Ireland.
The grant will be used to run a Men’s Shed project at its new premises in the city, giving its male members the opportunity to do woodwork and gardening.
The project was welcomed by Vincent, 43, a former bricklayer who suffered a brain injury as the result of an accident during the Belfast to Dublin maracycle in 1998. He was unconscious for two and a half months. “Mentally and physically I could not go back to work. I can’t walk straight now, never mind build a wall straight!” he said.
But Vincent says he, and other men like him, have talents which would be well put to use in a Men’s Shed project.
Sheila Quinn, Development Officer with Headway, said: “Acquired brain injury and depression go hand in hand. We believe the Men’s Shed project is a great way to combat depression. Research has shown that men who may not be comfortable talking face to face will talk shoulder to shoulder.
“They will work on our allotment and the shed will be used for woodwork, making things like raised beds which are important as many of our members have disabilities and cannot kneel down to do work like weeding.”
Headway Newry has 40 male members whose ages range from 22 to 70. A number have acquired a brain injury as a result of a fall, accident, aneurism or assault, and have a range of disabilities including balance problems and mood swings.
“All these brain injury survivors will never work again,” said Sheila. “They include carpenters, bricklayers and plasterers and this project will give them a sense of belonging and a chance to develop their skills. To spend an afternoon working with their hands in the woodwork shed or on the allotment will give them real pleasure.”
Vincent agreed: “I am looking forward to working on the allotment. When you are gardening it does not matter if you fall over, you have a safe landing on soil and you can scrape, shovel and pull weeds.
“There are a lot of men who have had to retire because of their brain injury, joiners, plasterers and men who are useful with their hands. Some of them might not have worked for 20 or 30 years so to have the chance to hammer nails and saw wood will be quite an achievement. Talking together at the same time will make us feel nearly normal again.”
Visit our website to see other projects that have been funded:
Changing lives of isolated older people
We are delighted to announce that almost £4.5 million has been given to help transform the lives of older people here in NI who are at risk of isolation, depression, mental and physical ill health and low self esteem.
Fourteen projects have been given awards grants from our Reaching Out: Connecting Older People programme.
14 projects in NI receive funding today
Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid will use their £200k grant to reach out to women in Belfast, Lisburn and Down and help them get support with recent research revealing that one in six women over the age of 60 suffers from some form of domestic abuse in NI.
Chief Executive, Patricia Lyness, said many of the women they have identified have been dealing with violence and abuse of some form or other for years.
“However due to their age and other factors they feel unable to talk about it and many believe it is too late for them to do anything to change their situation,” Patricia revealed.
“This programme will help us to get out into the communities where these women are and to offer a lifeline to them. The message is that it is never too late and everyone is entitled to live a life free from violence and fear.
“We have worked with women in their 80’s and 90’s who find their way to us and are amazed at the freedom that came with speaking out and the support which was available to help them keep safe and recover from past violence and abuse.”
Other projects awarded funding include Big Telly Theatre Company, which has been awarded £200,000 to help bring the theatre and arts through their ‘Spring Chickens’ programme to older people in rural communities many of whom have never been to the theatre before.
And Kilkeel Development Association Limited is using £200,000 to deliver the Harbour Haven Forum to target isolated older people in rural areas and offering transport and a range of activities at a warm and welcoming drop-in centre.
Visit our website to see other projects that have been funded:
Older people take centre stage
Acting Up – Trailer 1 from Campaign Social on Vimeo.
Putting huge smiles on faces and Big Lottery Fund money into real ‘action’ has been the result of an innovative arts project for the over 60s.
The Kaleidoscope production company encourages older people to get out of their comfort zone, off their sofas and onto the stage through its ‘Acting Up’ project which received £180,000 from the Reaching Out – Connecting Older People Programme.
This feel-good film produced by the Newry group shows not only the hard work and determination which has gone into a recent production, but the rewards of fun, friendship and learning new skills which have been discovered along the way.
What do you think of the film? Have you been involved in a project that has empowered older people to get active, meet new people and learn new skills?
Follow @BIGNIOnline on Twitter and join the conversation or leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
Reaping rewards of energy efficient venues
The Energy Efficient Venues programme is helping groups in Northern Ireland reduce their carbon footprint and benefit the environment. With Climate Week well underway, what a good excuse to reflect upon some of the great work carried out by funded projects.
The programme awards grants of up to £50,000 to local groups so they can carry out energy efficiency improvements to their venues that are saving them money during a time of recession and helping them cut down on their carbon dioxide emissions.
Share Discovery Village offers outdoor pursuits for people of all abilities
By buying new UPVC doors and windows, fitting a new heating system or even installing solar panels or a wind turbine, groups have been able to reduce the cost of their venue’s heating and lighting.
This has meant they are also reducing the amount of energy they are using and decreasing their carbon footprint.
Share Discovery Village, an outdoor pursuits centre in Fermanagh that gives disabled and non-disabled people the chance to take part in education and creative arts activities, was recently awarded nearly £47,000 to carry out a range of energy saving improvements.
“We are replacing the lighting in our swimming pool and external areas with energy efficient LED lighting, said Robert Livingstone, Chief Executive.
“The centre’s insulation is being upgraded and new solar electric panels are being installed in the pool which will feed into the grid supply.
“The money we save will go back into running the wide range of activities we offer that encourage people of all backgrounds and ages to mix together.”
Boho Cross Community Association, near Enniskillen, is using nearly £50,000 to carry out a number of energy saving improvements to its centre, including installing a solar photo-voltaic system on the roof of the venue.
“The Association was set up in 1992 and we built our centre on the site of an old National school in 1999,” said treasurer Gretta Farmer.
“We had to add a new building to the existing old school which is constructed of stone and because of this there have been problems with damp from the very beginning.
Boho Cross Community Association installed solar panels on the roof of its venue
“Our kitchen and the playgroup are located within the old school and these rooms have always been damp. We have to keep the heating on 24 hours per day during bad weather and have been using a dehumidifier in the playgroup at night.
“Many groups use the centre for meetings and activities including Bo-Peeps playgroup, Boho Women’s group, youth club, parent and toddler group, keep fit, bowls, music and dance, senior citizens, heritage and many more.
“The photo-voltaic panels installed on the roof of the centre are an innovative approach that will help us save money which we can then put back into maintenance, activities and support we offer.
“These panels will feed into the national grid, so we can sell the energy we don’t use back to the electricity company.
“The improvements will reduce our heating and lighting costs which is brilliant because despite all the activities we offer we have to keep rent low.
“And we’ll be able to reduce our carbon emissions which is so important to us. Protecting the environment is an absolute necessity in this day and age.”
Want to do your bit for the environment during Climate Week then check out our map of volunteering opportunities.
