Local health projects receive £7 million lottery boost

The New Opportunities Fund have announced that 12 health schemes in some of the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland will benefit from a lottery windfall of almost £7 million.

Twelve schemes in Belfast, Lisburn, Fermanagh, Ards, Armagh and Dungannon, dealing with a range of issues, including alcohol and drug abuse, nutrition, mental illness and sexual health, will benefit from the cash boost.

The Oak Project in Fermanagh has received the largest slice of the windfall, receiving £880, 000, which will be used to help promote health and well-being in rural and isolated areas of Erne East.

New Lodge/Duncairn Community Health Partnership and the Upper Springfield Development Trust in Belfast also received large cash injections, with £860,184 and £774,630 respectively.

Other schemes to benefit from the lottery funding include: the Peninsula Healthy Living Partnership in Newtownards, the Lisburn Open Door Association and the Northern Ireland Tenants Action Project in Armagh and Dungannon.

Una McRoberts, manager of the Ardoyne Community Healthcare, who is involved in the Ardoyne/Shankill Health Partnership, which has been awarded £630,000, was delighted with the windfall.

“This grant will allow us to offer a range of innovative health services at grass roots level in Ardoyne and the Shankill and we hope that this project will help forge new relationships across both communities," she said.

The New Opportunities Fund’s board member for Northern Ireland, Breidge Gadd, said that the fund had now invested £13 million in creating several healthy-living centres in the Province, since its inception – these latest awards will bring the total to 19.

“Many of these projects are already making a real impact on the health of the communities they serve. The new projects being funded today will equip even more communities with the resources to take positive action towards improving their own health,” she said.

North Belfast SDLP councillor Martin Morgan also welcomed the funding, saying: “This will be a great boost to the people of north Belfast who have suffered terribly as a result of sectarian violence. This money will help bring vital services to our community and will be used to tackle health-related issues, such as alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy and depression.

"I have no doubt that this much-needed cash will help alleviate some of the problems faced by people living in interface areas of Belfast.”

(KmcA)