Projects

Working across both rural and urban parts of the Derry and Strabane area, Derg Valley Care received funding to work in partnership with Dr Ben Fitzpatrick(Ulster University) to establish if a social prescribing (SP) service combined with Grow Your Own type initiatives could effectively target both the issue of food poverty and improved mental wellbeing. They are also in partnership with the Strabane Health Improvement Project.

Located in Northwest Northern Ireland, Informing Choices NI is focused on starting up menopause groups in various organisations and communities and creating safe spaces where women with learning disabilities and those without could come together to have informal chats and education sessions, start the conversations needed to help them and to support each other. Currently in their extension, they are developing a training programme on supporting women through the menopause for support /care professionals across Derry and Strabane in collaboration with the participant group from the first phase and their research partner, Dr Claire McFeeters from Ulster University.

“My relationship with the university has been going from strength to strength. Ulster University held their first ever Inter Professional Education festival recently and I was asked to facilitate workshops. Over the years I have tried to reach out to the university and initial conversations were good but nothing ever came from it.”~ Project Lead.

Londonderry YMCA ran a mentoring project for 15 girls aged 11-14 who access their services, pairing them with student mentors from Ulster University Social Work and Community Art department. The researchers facilitated some group sessions for the mentoring pairs to discuss issues which are important to them. YMCA provided training and support for the mentors and matched them with mentees. This project has now ended.

ARC Fitness will create gender-specific recovery groups, and understand the wellbeing benefits/outcomes based on participation in a gender-specific or mixed group. Researchers will help upskill “research champions” at ARC, and they will share their findings at a community/university dissemination event.

Located in the Derry/Strabane district, IYSC was funded by the Ideas Fund to work with 3 groups in the community and partner with their researcher to build relationships with their participants who are older people aged 55 years and above. This partnership is to capture their experiences of engaging in a circus based programme and also to improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing. They received an extension to explore the impacts of circus skills on the social, mental and physical health of their participants in more depth, examining the different needs of older people in rural communities, those living in care environments, and those living in economically deprived communities. They continue to work with Dr Nick McCaffery who is an independent social researcher based in Northern Ireland.

Hive Cancer Support is located in the Derry and Strabane area, and work with cancer survivors. The main objective of their project is to collaborate with a researcher in ways that will help provide new levels of understanding around the psychological and emotional impact that comes with cancer diagnosis and treatment process on a survivor. They hope to give their community a safe space to share their stories and help influence practice in the oncology departments of hospitals in Northern Ireland and beyond.

The group shares that "We believe that our project puts us at the forefront of leading the way in cancer support, prevention and awareness. It also has shown very clearly that community and academia can come together in order to make ground-breaking changes to health care and wellbeing here in NI where we are currently struggling with huge waiting lists, are behind many other countries in their methods of person-centred care plans.”
Hive was recently awarded an extension grant and are working in partnership with Dr Joanne Marley from the Ulster University for this phase.

By applying a LIFEMAPS mental wellbeing framework, this project supports young people to embed daily habits that support positive mental wellbeing including altruistic behaviours.
Working with a researcher, the project trains a group of young peer researchers to gather feedback from other young people and showcase examples of developing positive mental wellbeing. The project is responding to issues that young people in their community may face including challenges around race, disability, and sexuality.

Facilitated by Informing Choices NI (ICNI), this project is exploring how loss and bereavement is discussed and dealt with for people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their families. A researcher from Ulster University is working alongside ICNI through a process of co-production with the community. Through meetings, workshops, focus groups and peer support groups, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, their families and support staff will be given the space to discuss and explore how loss and bereavement has impacted on their lives and what support was available, with the aim to produce tools that will help others across Northern Ireland and beyond.

This project is bringing women together through both horticulture and digital literacy to help improve both physical and mental wellbeing.
Participants are working with a researcher who will help to develop digital skills and share analytical skills with participants in order for them to chart the story of the She Shed. Programmes like the ‘Wellbeing Naturally’ Course, which combines gardening in a polytunnel with therapeutic practices, alongside additional activities promoting learning about healthy eating, food sustainability, and digital skills, are enabling the project to reach those in a rural community to combat isolation and provide residents with new skills..

Working with adult community members in two main age groups- 19+ and 40+, this project examines the benefits of time spent outdoors on mental wellbeing.
Working with a researcher will enable them to develop an approach with the community to measure and co-design the activities that participants go through. Two programmes are running to help establish a connection between the community members and the natural surroundings in their local area: Air (walking and woodland exploration) with mature adults, and Water (water-sports and swimming) with young adults.

This project is set out in two 10 week periods to provide support to survivors of mother and baby institutions. It will give those affected an opportunity for creative expression.
From painting to performances, the sessions are facilitated by an experienced theatre practitioner and a researcher using a trauma informed lens. The group are working with the researcher to develop their skills around research protocols and receiving guidance on the format of the project. The project is being co-designed by the participants and is using the arts as a way of improving mental wellbeing.