view

Independent voice for community/voluntary sectorWebsite: viewdigital.org

Issue 11, 2013

VIEW, issue 11, 2013 Website: viewdigital.org

VIEW

At this time of year, many of us typicallyturn our attention to setting new resolu-tions, in anticipation of fresh beginnings.

This of course will appear something of aparadox across the community and voluntarysector, as the proposed reforms to the welfaresystem begin to impact in the coming months.

The only certainty facing the sector andthe groups it works with is further belt tightening.

The widening gap between the “haves” and“have-nots” is a theme that has resonatedthrough 2012, within both Northern Ireland andthe Republic of Ireland, as respective govern-ments wield their axe to some of the most so-cially vulnerable, in the name of economic recovery.

Charities are being squeezed at both ends,struggling to balance reduced resources with anincreased need for their services.

CEOs in turn are being called on to innovate and differentiate, whilst keeping services rooted to their local community.

The team at VIEW has therefore decidedto broaden our scope, and report on issues ofconcern, and responses to cut-backs within theRepublic of Ireland.

On a more positive note, there are clearexamples of cross-border initiatives within thecommunity and voluntary sector, where innova-tion and collaboration are paying dividends.

We believe that this extended coveragewill offer you the opportunity to learn howother organisations steer through the additional

challenges that emerge through the year, shareideas, and network with your peers.

Amidst this increased austerity, charitiesare now expected to show greater transparencyin how they operate.

Building and sustaining a positive percep-tion, and in turn a support base, is arguably morecritical than ever, and requires careful planning.

VIEW recognises this challenge, and aimsto support the sector in its initiatives to up-skill.We will initially focus on digital communicationsand outreach, two important areas in raisingawareness to potential volunteers, new employ-ees, and funding sources.

VIEW looks forward to meeting and working with as many of you as possible throughthe year.

EditorialVIEW, the online publicationfor the community/voluntarysector in Northern Ireland.

VIEW associate Andrena Logue – marketing consultant

CONTENTSCONTENTSHomeless plea

Pages 4-5 Sandra Mooreof Welcome (right) appeals for assistanceafter homeless centre inwest Belfast is destroyed

Hate crimes

Pages 6-7 The justice system in Northern Ireland is ill equipped todeal with racists attack, aconference was told.Lucy Gollogly reports

Novel talks

Pages 10-11 TheCarnegie Trust UK held arecent meeting at theFalls Road library to discuss the way forwardfor communities

Theatre call

Pages 12-13 SmashingTimes theatre companyis looking for people toattend its workshop laterthis month

Suicide report

Pages 16-17 VIEW talksto ChildLine and NICCY following the launch of arecent report on adolescent suicides inNorthern Ireland

Carnival beat

Pages 18-19 The BeatCarnival has come a longway in 20 years. WillisMcBriar talks to Beat Initiative director DavidBoyd (above)

1, How long have you been inyour present position?

I joined Headway Belfast in January2010.

2, What attracted you to thisposition?

I was particularly attracted to the challenge of growing and giving direction to a relatively small and underdeveloped charity. Havingworked in some of the largest charitiesin NI, I was excited at the prospect ofdeveloping professional services for aclient group whose disability is largelyinvisible. I saw at first hand very earlyin my career the devastation that braininjury can have on both survivors andtheir families.

3, What are the main chal-lenges facing Headway?

A big challenge for the organisation isto continue to develop innovativeservices that meet the very distinctneeds of the brain injured populationat different stages of their rehabilitation and life journey. A onesize fits all approach does not meet thecomplex and multiple needs of individuals with acquired brain injuryand the challenge is to deliver flexiblebut tailored services cost effectively.

4, Has there been an overallimprovement in the quality oflife of people in Northern Ire-land who have brain injuriescompared to the past?

There has certainly been significant development in the past 10 years butmuch remains to be done.

5, How common are brain in-juries in Northern Ireland?

Reliable data is notoriously difficult togather on Acquired Brain Injury due tothe method of recording primary injuries during hospital admissions.However, it is estimated that there areapproximately 2000 new cases of braininjury every year in NI.

6, Is the future of Headway se-cure in terms of funding or is ita constant struggle to main-tain services?

We are now less reliant on government funding; less than onethird of our income comes from statutory services at present and wehave worked hard in recent years todiversify and grow our income streamsto develop new services. However,competition remains high for fundsfrom all sources and that’s unlikely todiminish in light of the increased demand made on charities in thesetougher times. We are in a fortunateposition that we are the only charity in

NI delivering professional therapiesto survivors of brain injury.

7, Why did you decide to setup a new programme for sur-vivors of acquired brain injuryaged 16-20?

Rehabilitation services for young people with brain injury after hospital discharge has generally beeninadequate and there has been anacute lack of tailored and age specificservices for survivors of brain injuryin NI. Brain injury can have a devastating impact regardless of age,but young people especially face multiple challenges, because a braininjury complicates their normal developmental process, interruptsthe young person's life and can affecthis or her abilities that in many waysmake growing up harder. The ‘YoungerPerson’s Network ‘ offers young people a intensive programme of personal development with pyschological, practical and physicalsupports to facilitate an easier transition to adulthood after head injury.

8, Are adequate services inplace to assist families andcarers?

Families and carers are certainly thesecond casualty after their loved onesustains a brain injury. Our organisation offers counselling, information and education to familiesbut our focus in recent years hasbeen on service development for survivors and it is an area that willtake priority in future.

9, What is the best and mostdifficult aspects of your role?

The best part of the job is hearinghow our services have made a difference to the quality of life of ourservice users.The most difficult is taking a phone call and being unableto offer services or therapy to survivors of brain injury if they arenot within our current geographicalreach.

10, Do you have a favouritebook and film.

A tough decision. Amongst my alltime favourites are Shawshank Redemption and DH Lawrence’s Sonsand Lovers –but I still cannot watch afilm or read any book twice.

11, If you could be or do any-thing else – what would it be?

Since my early 20s I have alwayswanted to work in the charity sector, but if I wasn’t doing this Icould see myself running a travel business to meet the needs of another passion – holidays.

Website: viewdigital.orgVIEW, issue 11, 2013

ProfileWe talk to Fiona McCabe, chief executive of HeadwayBelfast, which helps people living with an acquiredbrain injury, about her work and the challenges facingthe organisation. (headwayni.org)

Call for help after fire de

Hundreds of homeless peoplein Belfast face wintryweather without the Welcome centre – which hasbeen destroyed in a fire.VIEW editor Brian Pelanasked Sandra Moore, the director of Welcome how theorganisation will cope

Sandra Moore, director of the Welcome organisation in Belfastwhich provides a vital lifeline for homeless people, spoke of herdevastation after a fire, which broke out in the early hours ofJanuary 13, destroyed their centre off the Falls Road.

“We provide all of the basic facilities, hot food, obviously shelter, warmth, a community place for homeless people and roughsleepers to go to during the day. We look after the day time homeless as well as the rough sleepers, but increasingly we also helppeople who are living on the margins and would be homeless if itwasn’t for our service.

“We deliver the absolute basics – food, showers, clothes – butthat is underpinned by support such as access to medical services.While this centre is the hub of our operation our drop-in service forfemales and our street outreach service will be able to operate moreor less unaffected, which is a blessing.

“We have lost our computers we can’t get in to the centre because it is a crime scene, but I can see through the window thatwe have lost this whole office completely; all of our IT equipment,our broadband, our telephones – which are central to the service –getting people into temporary accommodation. It really is a real badblow to us. After being in this community for more than 16 years it isdreadful to be leaving under such a cloud. I’m still quite numb I daresay the hurt and upset will set in later.

“But to see the pain on our clients’ faces who I was turningaway at 8am today was heart breaking. Also what shocked me is thatI would probably have expected to have seen a response of anger butit was sheer hurt and desolation. This too many is their only community place – the only community space in Belfast where people are accepted where they are at, having been excluded from somany places. This is a lifeline to many people.

“This is their community place, this is as close for a lot of people for what they have to family at this time. And you can guesswhat it is like to lose your family home. It is heartbreaking. There wasa wonderful atmosphere, camaraderie, a real sense of community, awarm feeling here.

“I haven’t had time to be really upset today. I got the contingency plan into action and kept going but the other thing thatstruck me has been that my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I have beenoverwhelmed by the number of people who have contacted me asking what can we do?”

If VIEW readers can help Sandra get computers,phones and broadband to get the Welcome centre upand running they should contact her [email protected] or call 028 90 240424.


Sandra Moore outside the burnt out Welcome homeless centre i

estroys homeless centreWebsite: viewdigital.orgVIEW, issue 11, 2013

n west Belfast


“I find it difficult to accept how told to return to your ‘native’ ho

An offence of racially aggravated crimeshould be introduced in Northern Ire-land, a report by the Northern IrelandCouncil for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM)

has urged. The Race and Criminal Justice in Northern

Ireland report, which was launched at the NICEMconference on January 11, said the justice systemhere is so ill equipped to deal with racist attacksthat it “remains wide open to accusations of insti-tutional racism”.

The study said a key problem is the lack ofprosecutions under hate crime legislation, whichwas introduced in 2004 to protect groups including ethnic minorities, the disabled and gaypeople. There is no specific race crime legislationin Northern Ireland.

“While there is some evidence of the PSNIre-addressing serious crimes in which they hadpreviously denied a racist motive, the NICEM experience is that too often the racial element incrime is denied or underplayed,” it said.

As a result, many incidents are being prose-cuted as assaults or murders, with the hate moti-vation being dropped. If a hate motivation can beproved in court, the defendant may receive an in-

creased sentence. Figures included in the reportshowed only 12 out of 13,655 hate-motivated incidents reported in the last five years wereprosecuted under hate crime legislation. The report’s author, Dr Robbie McVeigh, said his understanding was that none of these 12 caseshad involved race hate.

He said: “That’s quite shocking in terms of aplace that has been identified as the race hatecapital of Europe.”

PSNI figures show south Belfast has theworst incidence of racially motivated crime,thought to partly reflect where most foreign nationals live.

The report details the devastating experience of some NICEM clients, both in termsof the attacks themselves and the response of the

criminal justice agencies. One person told researchers of their dis-

tress after their daughter was targeted by racists.“I find it difficult to accept how being called

a Paki and being told to return to your ‘native’home is not racially motivated. How can an inci-dent that resulted in my daughter having a brokennose, stitches, bruising all over her body, beingcalled ‘a Paki’ and told to go back home through-out the assault not have a racial connotation?”

The report comes more than six years afteranother NICEM study urged a radical overhaul ofhow the entire justice system deals with racist violence. It called for reforms similar to those implemented in England and Wales after the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

Dr McVeigh said was “fair to say” that the

Cover of Race and Criminal Justice report and Dr Robbie McVeigh, author of the report, left, with Patrick Yu, Executive Directo Deputy Head, Service Improvement Department, PSNI

Only 12 out of 13,655 hate-motivatedincidents reported in Northern Irelandin the last five years were prosecuted. journalist Lucy Gollogly reports

w being called a Paki and being ome is not racially motivated’

lessons set out by the 1999 Macpherson reportinto Stephen’s murder have not been implemented in Northern Ireland.

“There’s no question that the levels of vio-lence and the intensity of violence that we identi-fied six years ago really haven’t changed verymuch,” he said. So the profound problems thereare in terms of racist violence and the way it’sbeen policed haven’t changed in any positive way.”

The report says the PSNI in particular havemade some progress in tackling hate crime andDr McVeigh said they now provide “very goodand very accessible” data on racially motivatedincidents.

He added: “But more generally the overarch-ing review of how the criminal justice system approaches race hasn’t happened.”

However, Dr McVeigh said he believed thatthe Justice Minister David Ford is committed totackling the issue.

Chief Superintendent Mark Hamilton saidthat the Macpherson report had had a “massiveimpact” on policing in Northern Ireland. He saidthe PSNI are currently reviewing how they dealwith hate crime, and are providing better trainingfor frontline officers among other measures.

However, he said, the police are beingthwarted by the lack of witnesses coming for-ward to support victims of hate crime. He said along-standing “veil of fear” is still stopping peopletalking to the police in Northern Ireland.

He added: “Anecdotally I can tell you that in

very few hate crime cases I’ve experienced thereis a lot of supporting witness evidence. Quiteoften what you have is a victim’s story and thenany physical evidence that we can recover from

the scene and that’s it.”Some racist attacks – including the “ethnic

cleansing” of more than 40 Polish residents fromsouth Belfast in 2009 after clashes at a NorthernIreland/Poland football match – have been linkedto loyalist paramilitaries.

Chief Superintendent Hamilton said hedidn’t believe racist violence was being orchestrated by loyalist paramilitaries, althoughhe said it would be “hardly surprising” if some individual members were involved.

The mother of Stephen Lawrence, DoreenLawrence, had been due to speak at the conference but pulled out after her son Stuartmade a compliant of racial harassment to theMetropolitan police.

However, in the speech she had planned togive delegates, she said:

“More than ever, there is a greater urgencyto bring about change, to ensure that our societyis ‘fit for purpose’ – to all, not just the privileged,the educated, the higher social classes, but thosewho reside on the periphery too – all deserve tohave access to services and to justice in this pro-gressive society. That would be the most fittinglegacy to Stephen.”

or of NICEM, Brendan McGuigan, Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, Chief Superintendent Mark Hamilton, Image: Kevin Cooper

‘The lessons set outby the 1999 Macpherson reportinto Stephen’sLawrence’s murderhave not been implemented inNorthern Ireland’


Edwards & Co. solicitors advises charities and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland

on a wide range of legal issues including charity creation, charitable status and

constitutional matters, trading and commercial arrangements, employment law,

finance, fundraising and property law, as well as dealing with the Charity Commission

for Northern Ireland.

Our team offers a full range of legal services including mediation, criminal law, clinical

negligence and personal injury claims, as well as family/matrimonial work.

Practical advice and a sensitivepersonal approach. We prideourselves on our unrivalledcommitment to clients’ needs.

Contact Jenny and Teresa: Edwards & Co. Solicitors, 28 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA.

Tel: (028) 9032 1863 Email: [email protected]

Web: edwardsandcompany.co.uk

Brian Pelan, co-founderand editor of VIEW, hasmore than 20 years’ experience as a journalist,including working for theBelfast Telegraph, the Western Mail in Cardiff, andthe Examiner group inCork. His skills include editing, design and writing.Brian is also lecturing at theBelfast Met to students en-rolled on the NationalCouncil for Training of Journalists course.

Una Murphy, co-founderof VIEW, coordinates ourdigital and broadcast mediaworkshops. She has produced and directed programmes for UTV, TG4,RTE and BBC, reported forThe Daily Mirror and TheIrish Times, and worked onmedia campaigns for Savethe Children Northern Ireland and CARDI, TheCentre for Ageing Researchand Development in Ireland. She has also taught journalism courses.

Louise Friel has over 22years’ experience as a consultant and trainer. Currently running her ownbusiness, she is a freelancetrainer with several organisations, including BTTraining Solutions. She alsodelivers workshops andseminars on topics including Social Media, andWeb and Email marketingtools. An accredited Microsoft Master Instructor, accredited ECDLand Advanced ECDL tester,

Willis McBriar is a former BBC broadcast engineer and trainer. He isa member of the NorthernIreland Skills Panel of Creative Skillset, representing the trainingneeds of BECTU members,and working particularly onbehalf of new joiners in themedia industry. He is also aWeb Editor for BECTU,and a mentor for CoderDojo in Belfast. Willis hasan MSc in Educational Multimedia.

Kathleen Holmlundhas managed major humanrights media outreach programmes and campaignsin Washington, DC, between 2004-2010. Morerecently, she has developedand expanded online mediastrategies for new and established brands. She hasalso facilitated workshopsand conducted training onmedia outreach in Europe.She is a visiting lecturer atthe University of Ulster.

Julia Paul worked as an on-air reporter with BBCradio and television in theUK for 18 years. She hasalso worked abroad, including as a journalist forthe United Nation’s Department of Public Information in New York,has carried out journalistictraining in Afghanistan, andmedia training in Switzerland. She lectureson the Broadcast LiteracyMA at Queen’s University.

VIEW is delighted to announce thelaunch of our programme of socialand broadcast media workshops,geared towards providing practicalskills support to the Community

and Voluntary sector across Ireland. In keeping with our intention to engage

with all levels of professional within the sector, our workshops have been designed tomeet the specific needs of those who may betaking on a more communications-orientedrole, or who need to fine-tune at a tacticalor strategic level, through to executives whoalready hold high profile media roles, butwould like to apply new presenting tech-niques, or even move into in-house

multimedia production and digital publishing. Some of these workshops have already

been tested and rolled out, whilst othershave been added by request.

Delivered by experienced practitioners,VIEW focuses very much on hands-on learning, so that you can return to the officearmed with a clear set of standards to applyin your day-to-day work.

Available either on a stand-alone basis,part of a group of related workshops, or amore condensed and strategic set of MasterClasses, we will incorporate a blend of “bestpractice” across the technical, digital, andcreative worlds.

Managing your organisation’s profile and

reputation across all stakeholder groups hasarguably never been more critical.

VIEW can help you ensure that yourstrategic communications planning is alignedacross all internal units, your media outreachprogramme is managed at your comfortlevel, and your followers are in tune with allyour great work throughout the year.

For more specific details, please goto our newly launched website onviewdigital.org or contact VIEWmedia training co-ordinator Una Murphy [email protected]

Get connected in 2013


Falls Libraryplays host tonovel talks Carnegie facilitates discussion on the way forward for communityand voluntary sector

Arange of representative individuals from the community andvoluntary sector met at the end of last year to discuss The Enabling State – a discussion paper, written by Carnegie Fellow,Sir John Elvidge

Sir John, who was accompanied by the chief executive of theCarnegie UK Trust, Martyn Evans, outlined the themes in his paper atthe Falls Library on the Falls Road in west Belfast. The meeting was thenthrown open to hear a range of views on the state of the communityand voluntary sector in Northern Ireland and what the future mighthold for it.

Sir John in his paper said: “This document is the start of our Enabling State project, not the end. In the process of debate around theUK and Ireland we hope to draw out the areas of agreement and high-light where there are tensions.

“The Carnegie UK Trust wishes to generate further debate onthese issues across the UK and Ireland, and possibly beyond, about a setof questions and ideas. This document sets out to stimulate that debate,rather than to prescribe a set of answers, but it does embody a broadanalysis. By exploring differences and similarities across the UK and Ireland, we believe we can better understand what this debate means.”

The essential points of our analysis are:1) Change − fundamental change is required in the way we think

about the relationships between communities, families and individualsand the state if we are to continue to improve wellbeing in our society.

2) Communitarianism − giving a central place in our thinking tothe capacity for communities, families and individuals to provide mutualsupport and self-help is the most convincing way to add to the wellbeingwe have now.

3) Continued Public Services − effective public services make avaluable contribution to our present wellbeing. We do not wish to loseour understanding of the value of those services, but we should acknowledge what we have learnt from the period since the introduction of the Welfare State about what they do not provide or donot provide well.

4) Enabling State − the state has a vital future role in enabling thecapacity of communities, families and individuals to grow wellbeing, inaddition to maintaining an underpinning framework of excellent publicservices. This would require the state to mould itself around that capacity and respond to it, both in facilitating the growth of non-statecapacity and in the way it organises the important continuing contribution of public services.

Carnegie UK Trust Chief Executive, Martyn Evans: “As an organisation that works across the UK and Ireland we are pleased to beable to encourage more sharing of innovative policy ideas between governments. Through a series of events and publications we hope thatthe work Sir John is leading will help stimulate debate on the future of public services.”

The project involves the publication of discussion papers, a seriesof roundtable events and interviews with senior government staff undertaken by Sir John.

The final report and recommendations of the inquiry are due to bepublished in March 2013. Martyn Evans, chief executive of the Carnegie UK Trust, left, with Ca

‘Communities should be free to determine what is it they want to do’


arnegie Fellow Sir John Elvidge Image: Kevin Cooper


By Lucy Gollogly

Atheatre company is looking for people interested in exploring the role of womenin post-conflict societies for a workshop

in Co Donegal later this month.Smashing Times Theatre Company is

running the creative seminar – called Women:Peacemakers or Agitators – at the Abbey Artsand Cultural Centre in Ballyshannon on Saturday,

January 26. The Dublin-based professional theatre

company’s patrons include the writers BrianFriel, Tim Pat Coogan and Robert Kee.

The workshop is part of Smashing Times’Creative Connections project, and is funded bythe PEACE III programme through the DonegalCounty Development Board Peace and Reconcil-iation Partnership.

Elaine Cronin, Smashing Times’ project coordinator, said, “This is a wonderful

opportunity to explore gender in the context ofconflict and peace-building, participate in high-quality drama workshops, see a professional actor read new plays in development, and take part in an in-depth post-reading discussion.”

Smashing Times manager Freda Manweilersaid they wanted to encourage discussion aboutwomen’s roles through the use of drama.

“Women tend to be presented mostly aseither peacemakers or passive recipients. We

Reaching out: Participants at a previous workshop organised by the Smashing Times Theatre Company

Come and join us fo


want to find a way to highlight the diversity ofroles that women take on in conflict and post-conflict societies,” she said.

Ms Manweiler said the organisers werekeen for those taking part to get up out of theirseats and become actively involved.

“We’re interested in the use of the creative processes to engage people. We wouldhave some ideas around how physical activity canopen up mental activity. It’s a more liberating for-mat,” she said.

“A lot of the techniques we use providepeople with a forum for expression. It might notalways be verbal expression – it can be donethrough images and it gives people the opportu-nity to express themselves. It might be the firststep in the process of actually talking aboutsomething. But if you don’t talk, it’s fine too.”

Speakers on the day will include CharoLanao, Commissioner for the Equality Commis-sion in Northern Ireland, and Idan Meir from thejoint Israeli-Palestinian movement Combatants

for Peace group. The workshop is free to attend and lunch

will be provided.

To book for a place at the workshop inDonegal, register atsmashingtimes.eventbrite.ie. For further details phone Smashing TimesTheatre Company on 00353 (0)18656613 or send an email [email protected].

or a Smashing time


The Lords of Lightning Show which openedthe Welcome 2013 New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Queens Quay Derry aspart of the city’s Year of CultureImage Martin McKeown.

If you would like your community/voluntary organisation to be selected forThe Big Picture in the next issue of VIEW,send images to [email protected]

The Big Picture


VIEW: Can you tell our readers aboutthe significance of your recent reporton adolescent suicides?

Mairead: The one big message is that whenwe are looking at childhood adversity and thelonger term adversities that happen in a child’slife are in a sense almost indicators that a childwill have difficulties as an adolescent and in laterteenage years, so we are looking at issuesaround for example, young people who mayhave been subjected to abuse, maybe looking atthe legacy of domestic violence, maybe lookingat the legacy of living in social and economicdeprivation, maybe having a parent that they’velost, maybe looking at alcohol and drug misuseas well. The research found that when you havea combination and a multiplicity of these factors, and they are long-term, that it will veryoften result in a child ending their life throughsuicide. We are also aware that there are higherlevels of adolescent suicides in Northern Irelandthan anywhere else in the UK.

Sharon: What’s we’ve witnessed at Childlineechoes what this report is saying. We’ve had arecent report which looked at what childrentalk to ChildLine about. We’ve had a 68 per centincrease in self-harm calls and a 39 per cent rise

in contacts about suicide. The calls and onlineinteractions are getting younger and younger –we’re getting nine-year-olds contacting us aboutself-harm.

VIEW: Why do you think there hasbeen an increase in the number ofcalls to ChildLine?

Sharon: It’s probably partly due to our confidentiality and campaigning. Our confidentiality threshold is really important tochildren, that they know they can come and talkto. If we thought they may do something that’sgoing to cause them serious harm, we would tryand work with the child to seek some support,either from the police, talk to an adult who isimmediately next to them or ultimately we willcontact Social Services and get help to the childstraight away.

Mairead: It’s a very complex issue in lookingat what makes a young person contemplate sui-cide? And yes, there will be family pressures. Forexample, it may be the result of social and eco-nomic pressures. The levels of resilience a youngperson has to acquire as they go through life tobe able to deal with various crises that happenat various points in their lives sometimes can be

missing. But it will depend on if there’s a chronicissue, for example if they’ve lost a parent inearly childhood or if they are subject to abuse.So there are lots of different reasons. Why wethink it’s higher in Northern Ireland is probablydebateable. For example, we look at the legacyof the conflict as a possible factor. I would bereluctant to say that there is one answer be-cause it is very complex. It’s very much aboutthe pressures on a young person’s life andwhether or not we’re able to build that earlycoping mechanism in a child’s life and early resilience so that when they do hit problemslater on, that they can deal with them.

Sharon: What we do find at ChildLine is thatit is predominately girls that seek support.

VIEW: Is that because boys are morereticent to come forward?

Sharon: Potentially yes. What helps though isonline counselling. So it’s that one step removed– that is helping. They’re not actually physicallytalking to someone on the phone but they’reemailing someone instantly and that really helpsthem. And what’s we’ve also been doing is targeting young men and boys through the likesof Facebook.

Call for joint approachin offering help totroubled youngstersVIEW editor Brian Pelan talks to Mairead McCafferty, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Childrenand Young People and Sharon Bayliss (Operations Manager, whooversees ChildLine activity at the NSPCC) about the recentlaunch of an adolescent suicide report

Support: Mairead McCafferty, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, left,and Sharon Bayliss, Operations Manager at ChildLine, Northern Ireland, Image: Kevin Cooper


VIEW: What sort of ages in terms ofthose looking for help are contactingChildLine?

Sharon: We’re seeing the issues are arising arearound the 14-16 to 17-year-old age group, Selfharm issues are peaking in this age group. Whatwe’re also seeing in ChildLine in NI is that a lotof young men are taking their own lives.

VIEW: The report is very laudable.but is it an uphill struggle in the current economic climate? Can youreally make a difference?

Mairead: Obviously, people tend to shy awayfrom anything that might cost more money be-cause as you say the funding pot is shrinkinggenerally. But what you can do is use the

existing funding you have more cleverly. We haveto look at what resources are already out thereand this is about having an integrated approachto making sure that we make a difference tothese children and young people. If we’re seri-ous about wanting to make an impact, if we’reserious about wanting to reduce the levels ofsuicide in this society, then we need to look atwhat we can do together to address that effectively.

VIEW: Is there a call going out to the community and voluntary sector tohave a joint approach to the problemof adolescent suicides.

Mairead: It isn’t just the community and vol-untary sector – the statutory sector needs towork with the community and voluntary sector.

But one of the most important things comingthrough in the report that we’re produced is ifwe’re looking at early intervention, we need tobe able to identify the indicators that can even-tually lead to young people ending their livesthrough suicide. So we need to be looking atthat model of early intervention in a child’s lifeand to look at those longer-term multiple adversities. That in itself is going to save moneybecause if you invest the money when they’reyoung it will help in the longer term.

Sharon: What we’ve done in our Facebookcampaigns is to encourage children to talk to acounsellor. We are seeing more and more youngyoung people contacting us. We’ve also reviewed training for all of our counsellors whowill be getting enhanced suicide awarenesstraining which will be rolled out this year.


Why the Beat ofCarnivalis good for our soul

By Willis McBriar

The Beat Carnival has come a long way in just under 20 years.When it started out in 1994, Belfast had never hosted a Rio-style Samba carnival, drummers went to ‘band nights’ not workshops and an inclusive St Patrick’s Day parade was some-thing that happened in New York.

Last year, Beat was involved in four major projects in Belfast. Thefirst was the St Patrick’s Day Parade. In six years, Beat helped to makethe event more representative of both communities. Also a ‘Land of Gi-ants’ performance in which Beat and their partners secured £750,000from the Legacy Trust UK for a one-off community celebration on theTitanic slipways. Alongside the Land Of Giants production, Beat alsoworked with LOG partners Belfast Community Circus to co-createJourney To The Land Of Giants, a large-scale touring show with 65 youngpeople and professional performers.

Finally, in November, Beat created the closing event of the BelfastFestival and a celebration for it’s 50th anniversary: a new outdoor cul-tural experience based on the Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’.

David Boyd, Beat’s founder director and pioneer of carnivals inBelfast and inclusive drumming, said: “I used carnival in a fragmentedBelfast to bring people together – specifically because it wasn’t part ofour local culture and it wasn’t owned by one side or the other here.Carnival is a large-scale, participatory street activity that is welcomingand creative. Everything else that was happening when people expressedculture on the streets, and we seem to be revisiting those times, was celebratory for one community but not for all – and often becamethreatening and confrontational.”

Carnival was an immediate success and with its strong visual and‘feel-good’ presence, agencies such as the Tourist Board and Belfast CityCouncil have used resulting images of happy people on the streets topromote a new positive face of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Unfortunately though, particularly at this time when street troubleis again erupting, Belfast City Council has ended its core stake in whatbecame ‘The Belfast City Carnival’.

Another consequence of the council’s decision is that Beat will notbe producing the Belfast St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year.

Beat is determined, however, to produce a fresh form of independ-ent Carnival in June, despite having to run a large building, which incor-porates a soundproofed drumming studio, construction workshops,wardrobe and a store for giant floats, on a shoe-string budget.

Is David optimistic about the future? “Yes. We wouldn’t be doingthis work if there was not widespread community support and desirefor it.

“What we are doing would have been challenging six months agoanyway: it is slightly more challenging now” David Boyd, founder-director at The Beat Initiative with one o


of the displays used in the ‘Day of the Dead’ carnival at the Belfast Festival


‘My life was totally transformedthe day I met the Prince’s Trust’

Arecent report by the Prince’s Trust revealed that one in 10 young people inNorthern Ireland feel they cannot cope

with day-to-day life.Ian Jeffers, regional director of The Prince’s

Trust in Northern Ireland, said: “We know at ThePrince’s Trust that it is often those from the mostvulnerable backgrounds who end up furthestfrom the job market. Life can become a demoral-ising downward spiral - from a challenging child-hood into life as a jobless adult. But, with theright support, we can help get these lives ontrack across the region.”

Co Antrim woman Charlotte Crothers wasone such young woman who was able to turnher life around after meeting a Jobs Ambassadorfor the Prince’s Trust..

“I left school at 16 with two GCSEs. I thenwent and done a beauty and therapy course fortwo years. At the start of last year I left and became unemployed.

“I was in the jobs and benefits office oneday when I met a Jobs Ambassador for a Prince’sTrust youth programme. He spoke to me aboutthe benefits of it and how it worked in helpingyoung people.

“I said 'yes' but when I went home I wasvery anxious about it. It would mean going into aroom of completely new people. At that time Ihad lost a lot of confidence in myself and my motivation was completely out the window.

“My family and my boyfriend persuaded meto give it a go. I went to a Princes Trust team programme in Newtownabbey and I loved it.

“My confidence started to improve and Istarted to lose my shyness. We done a range ofcommunity projects.

“The programme ran for 12 weeks. At theend of it my confidence had been restored. I wasthen put in touch with Springboard who workwith young people as I wanted to get more quali-fications. Part of that involved going to SouthAfrica to work on an anti-bullying scheme. WhenI came back home I got re-involved with thePrinces' Trust. Charlotte is now just starting as aJobs Ambassador for one year with the Prince'sTrust.

Her role will now be to encouage youngpeople to do something with their lives. “When Ileft school I had two qualifications, I now have 14.I also intend to go to university in the future. Mymessage to young people is Her message is youcan achieve anything you want.”

Contact Prince’s Trust at 0800 842 842

VIEW editor Brian Pelantalks to Charlotte Crothers,who has overcome manyhurdles, after coming intocontact with a member ofthe Prince’s Trust

‘I had lost a lotconfidence and my motivation wasout the window’

Inspirational: Charlotte Crothers who is now working as a Jobs Ambassador forthe Prince’s Trust


Balloo House and chef, Danny Millar,have invited the public to share withthem an evening of good quality local

food, entertainment and handy cooking tipsto raise money for Northern Ireland CancerFund for Children (NICFC).

Award-winning chef Danny Millar hasrecently joined NICFC as a charity ambassa-dor. Some may know Danny from his regularappearances on BBC One’s cooking showSaturday Kitchen and from the series ‘GreatBritish Menu’, where he was the winner ofthe Northern Ireland region for two con-secutive years.

This year, Danny will be cooking up astorm, fundraising and promoting the workthat the charity does in the local areas sur-rounding, Balloo House, Killinchy; The Par-son’s Nose, Hillsborough; and LisbarnettHouse, Lisbane; to support children,teenagers and young people who are affected by cancer.

To launch this partnership, The Love toShare dining event at Balloo House, Killinchy,on January 31, provides an opportunity for

guests to experience Danny’s dishes thatshowcase the very best of local produce andhave been recognised by the Good FoodGuide UK, the Michelin Guide, the ObserverFood Monthly Awards, Good Food IrelandAwards, the Bridgestone 100 Best Restau-rants In Ireland and Georgina Campbell’sBest of the Best in Ireland first hand.

Danny, who won the Best Chef in Ire-land title at the Restaurant Association ofIreland Awards, will introduce each of hiscourses and provide hints and tips to inspirethe perfect Valentine’s meal or dinner party.On the night, guests will be greeted with achampagne reception, and will also be ableto pose their cooking Q&A’s to the chef.

They will also be in line to win a variety of culinary raffle prizes that will beup for grabs.

Speaking about the event, Danny said:“I’m absolutely delighted to be supportingNorthern Ireland Cancer Fund for Childrenas a charity ambassador.

“We’re launching our support with the“Love to Share" fundraising dinner. If you

love good quality, locally-sourced food witha warm welcome, and would like to getsome top hints, tips and recipes that will in-spire your senses and delight your palette, Iwould encourage to get a ticket and comealong.

“Not only will you enjoy delicious foodand great entertainment, but you’ll also besupporting a fantastic cause.”

Balloo Inns directors Ronan and JennieSweeney along with Danny Millar and areaiming to raise as much as possible for thecharity throughout 2013.

Commenting on the partnership,NICFC’s Corporate Fundraiser SorchaChipperfield, added: “I’m so grateful toDanny Millar and Balloo Inns for their sup-port. Without the support from the localcommunity and businesses, we simply couldn’t provide vital services to childrenliving with cancer in Northern Ireland andtheir families.”

Tickets are £25 per person – get yoursnow by calling Sorcha on 028 9080 5599 oremail [email protected]

Balloo House and chef Danny team up toraise funds for children’s cancer charity

Cooking up a treat: Five-year-old Jake Stanex from Belfast helps chef Danny Millar prepare for the Love to Share eventin Killinchy’s Balloo House on January 31. Proceeds from the event will go towards NI Cancer Fund for Children whichoffers practical, emotional and financial support to local children with cancer and their families


By Una Murphy

Csilla Borbely from Hungary felt therewasn’t enough news and information forpeople from different ethnic backgrounds

in Northern Ireland – so she set up her ownmagazine

The magazine - Minority Focus – will con-nect communities of people from different eth-nic backgrounds.

“I feel as foreigner that I didn't haveenough information when I got to NorthernIreland and thought it would be helpful to set upthe magazine, Csilla said.

“Each ethnic minority community groupdidn’t seem to know the other. The magazinewill help people from ethnic minorities to pro-mote their cultures.”

Csilla said her experience growing up inHungary was that of a “closed country”. “Ithink Northern Ireland is very similar to whatHungary was like then and is trying to open upmore and more.”

She decided to publish a lifestyle magazinein order to appeal to the widest possible audi-ence among ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland. “I wanted to make the magazine talk toeverybody within the ethnic minority communi-ties from a teenage boy to an elderly lady”,

Csilla said.The first issue includes a jerk chicken

recipe, a children’s bedtime story from Poland,Indian fashion and the benefits of African-stylebaby-carrying, interviews with an ethnic minor-ity pupil, the Children’s Commissioner and linksto networking and advice agencies.

Csilla is working with a team of volunteersand has received funding from the Community

Relations Council.She now plans to start up a film project

with people from a range of different ethnicbackgrounds.

For further details on the magazineemail [email protected]; orgo to the website athttp://www.minorityfocus.org

NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE 1

THE MAGAZINE FOCUSING ON ETHNIC MINORITIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

IN THIS ISSUE:

Being Mixed Race A Personal Journey from White to Black and Back by Charlotte Ulett

A study commissioned by ACSONIHow charity campaigns affect Africans in Northern Ireland

Personality of the month: Nisha Tandon Director of ArtsEkta

PLUS Respecting Cultural Diversity by Community Relations Council

Cover photo by Jason Jacob

CE FONAZIGE MAHT

NORIC MINHNG ON ETCUSI

AELRIN ERHTORNN ES ITIOR

DAN

ER 2012 ISSUVEMBNO

1E SSU

CsillaBorbely,left, andright, thefrontcover ofthe newmagazine

Csilla puts the focus on ethnic minorities

Nearly 30, 000 learners throughout the islandof Ireland get qualifications through an educa-tion charity based in Belfast – the Open Col-lege Network NI (OCN NI).

Its origins are as an Education LibraryBoard Project set up 30 years ago, now OCNNI runs a network of approved centresthroughout Ireland

OCN NI is Northern Ireland's first inde-pendent awarding organisation offering qualifi-cations across all sectors and an Ofqualregulated national awarding organisation.

Brendan Clarke, OCN NI’s Chief Executive,said,: “We are an education charity and anawarding body working with the community,with people and with businesses, creating quali-fications that enable those communities, busi-nesses and people to grow and develop.

“We help make people’s lives better.“Working with employers, community or-

ganisations, Further Education, Schools, andGovernment we design, develop and awardqualifications that make a difference to theirlives,” said Mr Clarke.

“This is a partnership between the learner,the approved centres and OCN NI, working to-gether to make achievement a reality for hun-dreds of thousands of learners, he said.

Watch one OCN NI learner’s story athttp://bit.ly/TPt8b0.

Colm McDonald took OCN NIcourses through a charity VOYPIC –Voice of Young People In Care.

Vibrant Open College Network is helping to change people’s lives

Achievement: MLA Basil McCrea, fourth from left, front row, at the launch inStormont of Open College Network NI as a national awarding organisation

Chocolate Memories located in ruralCo.Down is a social enterprise whoseprofits go to towards creating pathways to employment for adultswith autism. The team of chocolatiershas been preparing a treat for VIEWreader Hannah Mayberry from Newtownards, Co Down who waspicked at random by VIEW editorBrian Pelan as winner of a chocolatehamper. Thanks to all VIEW readerswho took part in the competition.

A sweet treat forwinner of VIEW’schocolate competition

view

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