Charity gets major award

Charity gets major award

13 March 2019

A HIGHLY acclaimed Downpatrick-based charity has won a major award for its work.

The Life Change, Changes Lives mentoring and psycho-educational counselling organisation — based in Market Street – was presented with the ‘best charity supporting families’ award at the recent First Families Awards ceremony held at Titanic Belfast.

The award was in recognition of the charity’s pop up art initiative which provides an opportunity for people with a variety of problems to engage in constructive activities, including giving new life to old furniture.

The charity provides opportunities for people with a variety of problems to engage in constructive activities and, in addition to offering art and craft as therapy, it provides professional and confidential counselling, mental health and addiction support and suicide intervention.

It also helps minimise social isolation, alongside encouraging wellness and recovery and family support.

Through the pop-up art initiative, furniture local people donate is given new life and sold to help generate funds, with the charity priding itself on providing a service which is at the heart of the community.

The pop-up art arm of the local charity has been hugely successful since its launch and continues to go from strength to strength, with increasing numbers of people coming forward to participate as they begin their recovery from a range of issues they face.

News of the prestigious First Families Award comes just a few weeks after Life Change Changes Lives secured a slice of a near £2m funding cake made available under the Department of Justice’s assets recovery scheme.

The government department has distributed over £5m to organisations across the Province since the scheme’s launch in 2012, with the Downpatrick charity aiming to use its £144,000 three-year funding package to provide its clients with basic food hygiene training, alongside cooking participation and demonstration skills.

The charity helps and supports people suffering with a range of mental health issues and addiction problems, offering professional and confidential counselling, mental health and addiction support and suicide intervention services. 

Life Change Changes Lives also works to help minimise social isolation, alongside encouraging wellness and recovery and family support.