Resurgam News March 2015

Resurgam News
Chairmans Insight
Mayors Reception
Welfare Reform
Members of The Resurgam Trust Board, core
staff and volunteers recently accepted an
invitation to the Island Civic Centre for a
reception with the Mayor. The invitation was
an acknowledgement by the Mayor for the
ground-breaking work done by the
Resurgam Trust in the communities we
serve. Unfortunately, due to a family
bereavement the Mayor Andrew Ewing was
unable to attend but was dutifully
represented by Alderman Paul Porter and
other council colleagues. After a short tour of
the council chamber and light refreshments
members of our board, core staff and
volunteers had the opportunity to discuss the
potential benefits to the community that RPA
brings. The creation of Lisburn and
Castlereagh City Council brings opportunities
for Resurgam and our holistic community
regeneration model and will help shape the
new council’s community plan. We would like
to thank Mayor Andrew Ewing for his kind
invitation and congratulate him on his term in
office as the last Mayor of Lisburn.
The impending cuts across all government
departments is casting a dark shadow across
the entire community. Important community
projects and services are now at serious risk
while those organisations who have been
lucky enough to be resourced are being asked
to do a lot more with a lot less. At present we
currently have 14 members of staff on notice
with their employment due to cease at the end
of March. The majority of this staff is involved
in community safety and youth outreach work.
Couple this with the impending cuts to the
PSNI and the removal of neighbourhood
police teams, community representatives are
rightly worried. The removal of the CRED
strategy (Community Relations Equality and
Diversity) by the youth service is a short
sighted attempt to save money with long term
negative effects. Resurgam Trust Chairman
Philip Dean who himself manages a
community safety project said; “Lisburn is a
very settled and safe city with an extremely
low level of anti-social behaviour. This is due to
the work being done by the very projects and
staff currently on notice. I hope that the
powers that be can see sense and give these
important community safety projects priority”.
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Looking after the
health and
wellbeing of staff,
volunteers and
communities
In late November The Resurgam Trust was
notified that we had been successful in our
bid for funding to CLEAR to address health
and wellbeing. The proposal looked to
support staff, volunteers, individuals and
groups to promote health and wellbeing.
The programmes were based around the
South Eastern Trusts Five Ways to Wellbeing
which encourages individuals to connect, be
active, take notice, keep learning and give all elements which have been shown to
promote wellbeing , support recovery from
and protect against mental health problems.
The programmes have consisted of health
checks, alternative therapies, weight loss
programmes, cooking, using art to explore
health and wellbeing and a gardening
project. Staff and volunteers have attended
training on Mental Health First Aid, Safe Talk,
Self Harm, Motivational Interviewing and Low
Level Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
A report looking at what we have done, how
many people were involved and what impact
this has had will be produced by the end of
March 2015. In addition feedback from the
sessions have prompted exploring options for
providing the following services and /or
programmes - alternative therapies, cooking,
weight loss and art programmes.
For more information please contact Gillian
Lewis Healthy Living Manager 07710394983 or
email gillian.lewis@resurgamtrust.co.uk.
New Horizons
Credit Union
NEW MEMBERS
Registration Evening
For those who can’t get to
New Horizons office during
working hours we invite you
to register on:
Monday 13th April
@ LaganView Enterprise
Centre, Old Warren, Lisburn
From 5.00pm to 7.00pm
Full assistance with
application forms and advice
on savings/loans available.
EVERYONE WELCOME
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Resurgam Trust
Promoting Staff Health
As part of Resurgam Trusts Health and Wellbeing in the work place initiative, anonymous
questionaires amongst staff were completed
and returned to feed into an annual health
and well-being action plan. One area
highlighted for improvement was the low level
of fish consumption among staff. It is
recommended to eat 2 portions of fish per
week as part of
a healthy diet.
On further
consideration it
became
apparent that
most staff
lacked
confidence in
how to
prepare and
cook a fish
dish. To
address this
issue and
encourage the
staff to eat and
enjoy fish in
their diet,
Resurgam
Trust
organised a
cooking
demonstration
followed by a
staff lunch.
All staff took
part in the
preparation
and cooking of
the dish, and came together to enjoy it for
lunch. The feedback from the initiative was
positive and most staff now feel confident in
cooking and serving a fish dish to their family.
Congratulations
to our two prize
draw winners!
LaganView
Community
Gym is
delighted to
announce
that Steven
McCullough
and Jim
Chance were
the two lucky
winners of
the recent
prize draw.
First prize
for £150 of
personal
training with Kyle Reain, Team Attitude
Fitness went to Steven and second prize for
10 free Crossfit Sessions with Team Attitude
Fitness went to Jim Chance. Congratulations
to both men!
LaganView Community Gym would like to
thank all the new members who signed up
for monthly membership from January to be
in with a chance of winning these fab prizes.
Since January 2015 there have been a high
number of new members join LaganView
Community Gym, both pay-as-you-go and
monthly memberships, which is an
encouraging and positive sign.
The gym recently installed a new cable cross
over machine to add to its already expanding
range of equipment. Anyone looking an
induction for this machine please call in to
see Carl or Johnny or phone 07599925372.
Just a reminder that LaganView Community
Gym offers the cheapest Pay As You Go
rates in the City at £2.50 per session and
monthly membership from £12.50 for
unlimited use! Please call Carl on
07599925372 to register for an induction or
for more information.
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Lisburn Sure Start was
delighted to have a visit
from our local MP
Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeffrey visited our office in Old Warren
Primary School, meeting with representatives
of our management committee, Sure Start
administration team, Old Warren Primary
School and Barnardos. Jeffrey also called in to
our Stay and Play programme in Hillhall,
meeting with children, parents and staff. Stay
and Play was very busy this morning, as we
also had a special visit from Dawn Thompson,
Assistant Director of Children’s Services.
Before leaving Hillhall, Jeffrey met with a
women’s group in Hillhall, together with
Francie Ferris and Gillian Lewis (Resurgam
Trust).
Following his visit to Hillhall, Jeffrey met with
Sure Start children and staff in our LaganView
crèche, before visiting our young mothers
group in LaganView. Jeffrey had planned to
visit our Terrific Two’s programme. However
it was a busy morning and unfortunately the
programme had finished before leaving
LaganView.
Thank you Jeffrey, for all your support with
Lisburn Sure Start and taking time this
morning to take a tour of some of our
programmes.
Thank you also to all the children, parents and
staff for welcoming our visitor today.
Also thank you to Adrian Bird (Resurgam
Trust), Sean Thompson (Old Warren Primary
School), Roberta Marshall (Barnardos), Sharon
Bayliss (Barnardos), Dawn Thompson (Bryson
Charitable Group), Francie Ferris (Hillhall) and
Andrea Wiltshaw (Resurgam Trust) for taking
time out of your busy schedules to take part on
the day.
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Resurgam Youth
Initiative
Inclusion Project
In 2014, Resurgam Youth Initiative secured
funding from the inclusion unit of the SEELB
to deliver a programme of activities and
workshops to young people from both the
BME and indigenous community under the
Lisburn South umbrella. Prior to applying for
funding, it was
noted that young
people from the
BME community
had limited
opportunity to
interact with young
people from the
indigenous
community, except
within a formal
school
environment.
However, even
within this, contacts
were limited due to
language barriers and struggles to feel
accepted amongst peers who hail from
Northern Ireland. Similarly, young people from
the indigenous community in Lisburn were
lacking the opportunity to explore more about
various cultures and to test their beliefs, in
that they tended to avoid socialising with
foreign nationals due to stigmatisation,
socialisation processes and an underpinning
belief that these young people were rivals for
future employment prospects.
In August 2014, the Inclusion Programme was
set up to take advantage of the learning
opportunities that young people could gain
from participation in an inclusive youth
setting. The programme aimed to overcome
this tendency to avoid peers of different
national heritage, remove the processes by
which young people within Lisburn south
area (both BME and indigenous) were
maintaining discrimination and prejudice
attitudes and also educate the young people
so an inclusive community could be
established to promote respect and
appreciation of diversity in a post modern
Northern Irish society.
The inclusion project encompassed the
delivery of a series of activities and
workshops to enhance the personal and
social development
of the young people
at which the
programme was
geared at. Across a
30 week period,
participants covered
topics relating to
identity (personal
and cultural), values
and attitudes,
prejudice and
stereotyping, cultural
awareness, equality
and diversity,
tolerance, inclusion
and integration and health and fitness.
Across the 30 week period it was anticipated
that those who participated would benefit
from enhanced collaborative working
partnerships with others, successful group
working capabilities, effective decision
making skills, enhanced self-esteem, selfworth, understanding of our own values and
attitudes, but also appreciating those of
others, improved self perception and
reflection skills, an enhanced knowledge base
of our own culture and that of others.
Improved reasoning skills, more reflective,
coherent thought patterns, enhanced
perspective talking skills, improved
confidence to articulate and express oneself,
respect for diversity, adaptability, refined
motor skills and competence in dealing/
responding to new challenges.
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Communities in Lisburn are on the rise
thanks to award-winning Resurgam Trust
An award-winning social enterprise,
which is transforming the fortunes in
one of Lisburn’s most deprived areas,
has been adopted as a model of best
practice by the Department of Social
Development.
The Resurgam Community Development
Trust is based in Lisburn’s Old Warren
Estate which has undergone a remarkable
transformation in recent years experiencing
a rapid rise in jobs, social housing and
educational prospects.
“Resurgam is Latin for ‘I shall rise again’ and
the community trust is ensuring Lisburn is on
the rise by creating new sustainable
businesses, providing employment and
improving the health and welfare of the
population. A Department of Social
Development report found that the
organisation, which employs more than 100
people, is putting £1.7m into the Lisburn
economy annually.
In 2005 the community had the vision to take
out a loan to build nine houses on land in the
area before property prices dropped in
2007. It sold off six of the nine houses and
used the fund to invest in its other new
businesses. They have recently been
granted planning permission to build five
new one-bedroom apartments and a shop
unit on Bridge Street in the centre of Lisburn.
“These buildings have lain derelict for years
and we will bring some new life into the
centre of the city now,” Jason Abraham,
Social Enterprise Manager of the Resurgam
Trust, said
Resurgam’s phenomenal success was
recognised when it won Enterprise Northern
Ireland’s Social Economy Business of the
Year Award.
It has been so successful in improving the
lives of hundreds of people in Lisburn that
the Department of Social Development plans
Resurgam Chairman Philip Dean (second
from right) collecting the award at the
recent Enterprise Northern Ireland Awards
to roll the model out to other communities in
Northern Ireland.
Such is the DSD’s belief in Resurgam’s
innovative work practices, it recently invested
£438,000 in a pilot social economy growth
project within the Trust to launch three new
social enterprises with the potential of creating
ten new jobs.
DSD Minister Mervyn Storey attended
Resurgam’s Annual General Meeting, telling
them that the social enterprise model they
have developed is one that can replicated in
other areas.
He told directors: “Such developments do not
happen by accident but require strategic
thinking, a visionary approach and committed
leadership. The Trust is blessed to have all of
these qualities in abundance and I know that
you will continue to take this important work
forward for the benefits of the people that you
serve.”
Resurgam is dedicated to improving life for
local people and developing facilities and jobs
in the area. While the fortunes for the area are
Photography provided by ABM Photo Art
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beginning to improve there is still much work to
be done, the group says.
Research found (The Best for Every Child)
across the city people suffer from poor health
and low educational attainment which includes
that primary school children in some
communities miss on average one day of
school a week. Resurgam runs a variety of
programmes for young people in the area,
helping them to plan their careers, addressing
the problem of low educational attainment and
encouraging them to engage in cross
community work.
Adrian Bird, Trust Director of the Resurgam
Trust, said: “We feel our holistic approach is
unique. We work with everyone in this
community – from the tiniest baby to senior
citizens and everyone in between. We see the
importance of community development,
regeneration and employment and the
difference that it is making to communities like
Old Warren.
“We can see that grants are drying up and we
need to make ourselves self-sustaining.
We aren’t there yet though all the businesses
break even or better and also provide
employment and training to local people.
The big picture is that no one in this sector can
rely on grants and it’s our vision to work
ourselves out of this grant culture.”
We are delighted to announce the Prize
Winners from our annual Christmas
Draw. We would like to thank everyone
who purchased a ticket and also the
businesses who provided the various
prizes
1st - £1200 Holiday Voucher - Gareth
Walker
2nd - £200 Home Heating Oil / Gas Credit
Note - Elaine Lowey
3rd - £200 Argos Voucher - Joanne
Mitchell
4th - Overnight stay for 2 @ Benedicts Jonathan McMullan
5th - Weekend Break for 2 @ Strand Hotel
Ballyliffin - Denis Paisley
6th - £100 M&S Vouchers - S. Young
7th - £100 Tesco Vouchers - M. Maguiness
8th - £100 Drinks Hamper from Trumbles Off
Sales - Derek McKnight
9th - £50 Turkey / Meat Pack from
Mulhollands Butchers - Janine White
10th - £50 Turkey / Meat Pack from
Mulhollands Butchers - S. Mulligan
11th - 3 Months Gym Membership of
LaganView Community Gym - David
Belshaw
RESURGAM TRUST
Our Technical Business Link Worker Vince
Curry receiving his Certificate in Liberal
Studies from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant
for Belfast Mrs Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle. The 14
month course was facilitated by Queens
University Belfast.
ANNUAL FUN -RUN
Wednesday
26th August 2015
Further details from
LaganView Community
Gym 07599 925372
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New Community
Services coming to
LaganView
LaganView is delighted to announce that as
of Friday 10th April 2015 Lisburn Citizens
Advice Bureau will have a permanent base
each week from 9.30-12.30 and 1.30-3.30pm
in Office Suite 2 of
the building. As we
move into this new
era of social welfare
reform, which in
itself brings
uncertainty to many
people across the
City, we are delighted
that Citizens Advice
will be providing outreach services in
LaganView. This advice service would be
face to face, both drop in and by
appointment. Please keep your eyes peeled
on our social media page for more
information nearer the time.
LAGANVIEW
COMMUNITY GYM
EASTER HOLIDAYS
Closed from
4th April 2015
Re-open
Wednesday 8th April
NI Holistic Outreach
ALTERNATIVE
THERAPIES
Another exciting development is that NI
Holistic Outreach, in partnership with the
Resurgam Trust, will now be offering a
range of holistic treatment options within
LaganView Enterprise Centre such as
•
STRESS THERAPY MASSAGE
•
HOLISTIC FACIALS
•
REIKI & SEICHIM
•
SWEDISH MASSAGE
•
INDIAN HEAD MASSAGE
•
REFLEXOLOGY
•
ACUPRESSURE MASSAGE
Cost for a 30 minute treatment will only be at a
special community rate of £10 staring on 25th
March and running on 1st, 15th & 29th April. This
is open to both male and female adults alike with
sessions starting from 12.45pm. 1.20pm, 1.55pm
and 2.30pm. To book in for an appointment
please call Anne McCarthy (after 3pm) by phone
07837163942, call Aine on 07703056225 or
email anne.mccarthy@ntlworld.com . For more
information go to www.niholisticapproach.co.uk
or contact Gillian Lewis 07710394983.
The Resurgam Trust is funded by the
Department for Social Development
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