North Down

North Down

Kilcooley and Rathgill

What’s happening in this area?

Health and Well-being

Find Help NI (formally My UHub) are delivering a health and well-being project to raise awareness of support services and provide health and wellbeing support through group activities and ‘one to one’ interventions. Interventions already delivered include employment support, fitness training, counselling, family therapy and child play therapy. The project has created an online directory of local support services and advice, www.findhelpni.com, and trained 40 volunteer mental health befrienders. Moving forward the project will continue to provide targeted holistic interventions to families within the community, tackling issues such as substance abuse and addiction, social isolation and mental ill-health.

Community Capacity Building

Bryson Care/Tides Training have delivered a community capacity building project, working with eight community groups to provide training and mentoring to enhance their capacity. Moving forward Tides Training will continue to work with community groups and individuals to increase the number of people participating in community life, improve their skills and confidence and reduced the space for paramilitary organisations to operate.

Community Safety

The Safer Areas for Everyone Project, delivered by NI Alternatives, has established a community safety engagement forum which has identified and prioritised local community safety issues and developed and delivered various campaigns to address these issues. The Forum has also had the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the Criminal Justice System and its processes, through various educational sessions. Moving forward the SAFE project will strengthen the community safety forum and work in partnership with the PSNI to make both areas a safer place to live.

Raising Aspirations of young people

The DARE project has engaged with over 350 young people from Kilcooley, Rathgill and neighbouring Communities. The project aims to raise the aspirations of young people, supporting them to dream and giving them the confidence to believe in themselves. It gives them tools to achieve their dreams/goals be that in school, or in the community. The programme encourages young people to respect their community and all people that make up their community regardless of race, age, gender, religion, or sexuality. The young people became engaged and active within their community by helping others and creating a safer and happier place to live. Moving forward the project will continue to work with children, young people and their parents to improve the educational attainment of children and raise their aspirations in terms of employment for the future.

Restorative Practice

The STARS (Striving Towards a Restorative Society) project is being delivered by Community Restorative Justice Ireland and NI Alternatives. The project aims to increase the use of restorative approaches in community setting through a programme of training and mentoring support.

Ex Prisoner Support

The ACT Initiative are delivering an Ex Prisoner Support Programme in four Communities in Transition areas, including Kilcooley and Rathgill. The project seeks to build acceptance of ex-prisoners in the community and realise the positive contribution to society they have to make. It also includes an element of support services including advocacy, welfare rights and mental health support.

Funded by The Executive Office

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