Partners

Lead Partner

Corrymeela

Corrymeela are the lead parter in the Trauma Informed Approach Support Programme. As well as managing the finances they are delivering a number of residentials for people who are seeking asylum or have been granted refugee status.  They also deliver a number of Trauma informed approach to training residentials. This training has been designed and facilitated by Corrymeela, and is a 2-day residential, providing unique opportunities for exhausted professionals, practitioners and volunteers to take time out of busy schedules to embed knowledge and understanding on trauma informed practice, prioritise holistic self-care and wellbeing, whilst opening up spaces to network and develop a consortium of partners. The response for spaces was overwhelming and therefore we adapted the training to respond to need. Some feedback from participants is included below:

All participants reported their knowledge and understanding of trauma had increased and that they had a significantly improved understanding of vicarious trauma after the training. Feedback and recommendations were gathered to inform future trainings and implemented accordingly, resultant the integration of a co-design methodology.
One midwife responding to pregnant and nursing mothers seeking asylum living in hotels, reported ‘Excellent training- would love to recommend it to all my colleagues.’ She had reported feeling exhausted and burn out, but by availing of the holistic approach and therapeutic experience, the training was life giving for her professional practice and her personal sustainability.
Others shared, ‘Society really needs these important sessions.’ ‘I can see the need for this training to be rolled out to school staff.’ ‘I learnt how to heal and deal with trauma.’
We received further feedback after the training from one volunteer who had also lived experience of seeking asylum, ”Words cannot express enough the amount of gratitude I have for having been part of this amazing training/masterclass. As I said on the last day, I felt highly inspired by everyone present and it has given me a whole new perspective on the importance of self-care not only for ourselves but for the people we support as well. Looking forward to the next one…”

Service Delivery Partners

Anaka Women’s Collective

Anaka Women’s Collective are a group of women who use their collective skills to educate, support, advocate and celebrate each other. They are delivering a range of holistic services throughout the project including growing workshops, skill share pottery and art workshops, hair and beauty workshops, surfing lessons for families, group walks and exploring nature. Some feedback from participants is included below:

”I and my three kids had a wonderful and most memorable time with the Surfing organised by Anaka. My kids rarely go out to have fun because of no fund but this put smile to our faces and hope to have another like it again. Thank you so very much.”
“The second thing I find important is the organisers commitment to create spaces for accompaniment and friendship with a focus on women as women, not women and children, not women as mothers… but a place where women from all walks of life can create sense of sisterhood and collective self-care. Such spaces are indeed very scarce and little!”

LORAG

LORAG supports the residents of Lower Ormeau in a variety of ways, some of which include:

  • Build self-confidence and develop activities to meet the needs of the community
  • Increase social interaction, community safety and community involvement to reduce feeling of isolation and improve emotional well being
  • Respond to local poverty, health inequalities, housing and environmental issues
  • Work in partnership with other local communities to achieve these aims where appropriate

As part of this programme they provide group psychotherapy for men and women, one to one psychotherapy sessions, nutrition breathing exercises, yoga and integration events. Participants from both the male and female groups have went on to engage with different programmes and sports tournaments. It is an important journey on the integration and wellbeing level. Some people joined their gym, and other men’s and women groups.  The feedback from “one to one” sessions is phenomenal. People really appreciate this support, and attendance was very good. This programme creates very safe and informal space for vulnerable people. This is a good platform for people to engage with wider communities and build confidence after their sessions and integration events have finished. Additional support is always given to the group members. People taking part in the project often befriend each other and share their stories. Feedback from some of the particpants is included below:

    – “I’ve certainly benefited so much from sports and social participation in all the activities you’ve done. I’ve benefited socially and physically.”

    – “I would like to thank you for this programme! I feel better with myself, and I learned how to work on my stress levels, and its good to talk to a professional. This program helped me a lot and I’m very thankful. I will volunteer to help others.”

    – ”I have started feeling my body and the way I think and accepting what I cant change. I am being positive in the midst of what I’m going through. I have improved a lot is my emotional wellbeing through yoga. I’ve started being emotionally stable and not breaking down if things are not going my way.”

    Place to Wonder

    Place to Wonde make immersive storytelling and theatre for children and their grownups, designed to lower anxiety and increase wellbeing and connection. 

    ​They create magical narratives and spaces where everyone can play alongside each other in an extraordinary world of make believe. 

    ​These experiences are predominantly outdoor and are designed to connect audiences to the wonder above their heads, below their feet and ultimately the unlimited magic that lives inside their hearts, no matter how old they are.

    Throughout the project they will deliver a mapping a trauma journey training to practitioners and 16 storytelling and play in nature workshops to children and their parents.

    The participants who took part in Mapping a Trauma journey training now understand the physiology of the nervous system. They will be able to identify when a child is in fight or flight or freeze mode and are more equipped to hold space for that child, and not see it as bad behaviour but understand that the child is in trauma. The participants now have creative tools to help the child process or discharge the trauma and will be better equipped to identify when to seek outside help for a child with trauma.

    The parents who attended the storytelling workshops now have clear examples of how to help their child process worries and self-regulate in a child centred, creative language that children respond to.

    We modelled co-regulation, breathing techniques and ways to shake out worries and process emotions.

    The children had the opportunity to have a safe space to play, breath and be heard and seen.

    Belfast Massage Project

    Wellbeing Clinic Belfast provides support to adults who want to improve their health. They not only focus on recovery and maintenance of health,  but also on making the moment count by maximising current health and also having fun. As part of the programme they will:

    • Train 6 asylum seekers and refugees in Indian Head Massage (Diploma).
    • Train 6 asylum seekers and refugees in Acupressure (Diploma).
    • Train 6 asylum seekers and refugees in Aromatherapy (Diploma).
    • Support those 18 trainees to deliver their complimentary therapies to the community. 

    – A single parent, who has been granted refuge status stated that she really enjoys the therapy and the management of the therapies. She has now shared she wants to do more management as this is what she realises and this is what she particularly enjoys.

    – A woman who is in the asylum process and a parent of 3 young children said that she finds the project is supporting her learning and confidence in English. She is really enjoying the massage activities and her application and committment is wonderful: time-keeping;
    committment ( goes above and beyond – has stayed extra time at events to helo people); feedback from the people she massaged has been 5 star – excellent.

    The Hummingbird Project

     The Hummingbird Project has been raising the standard in accountable, change making solutions in the mental health sector through education, information provision and therapeutic treatment in one-to-one, group, in-person and online settings. Partnership working and community collaboration is at the heart of everything we do.

    At The Hummingbird Project and as mental health professionals, we are unashamed to say we have all experienced mental ill health. In fact, we are proud of it; who we are, how far we have come and how we use our experiences to help others. Everyone at some point in their lives will be faced with difficult, sometimes life changing challenges.

    It’s by speaking up about and sharing our own personal experiences, we hope to reduce stigma and give other people permission to talk about the issues affecting them. That’s why, in addition to giving you some detail about our professional background we are telling our stories as well.

    During the project they will deliver resilience training to practitioners and to those who are seeking asylum or have been granted refugee status.

     

    – A male participant attended a session where it became evident that his mental health had been negatively and severely impacted by the asylum process he had been engaged with for many years. He challenged the recovery pillars of hope and personal responsibility, blaming the systems for his deteriorating emotional state. During the programme, he began to listen to the other participants who were supportive of the concepts in the training. At the end of the session, he had accepted some signposting information from the participants and facilitators. He left feeling that, while he couldn’t expedite the asylum process, he could manage the impact by reaching out and addressing his mental health issues. Follow up by project partners indicated that he has had a significant improvement in his mood and spoke highly of the session.

    – One female participant who attended felt that she had no issues with mental health – interpreting the subject to mean mental ill health. Culturally, she found it difficult to be entirely open about her experiences and saw limited use in the training. During the session, she became more willing to talk about and express opinions on mental health and reframed her perspective to include the concepts of resilience and mental wellness. At the end of the session, she approached the facilitator to express her gratitude that she had learned when she had not expected to and that she felt more able to address issues at home and within her community.