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Young at Heart use art to make a difference in the community

What’s the story?…Members of the Young at Heart Group in Ballintoy enjoy a storytelling session led by Stephen O’Hara as part of a programme of activities funded by a Housing Executive community grant worth £2,120.
What’s the story?…Members of the Young at Heart Group in Ballintoy enjoy a storytelling session led by Stephen O’Hara as part of a programme of activities funded by a Housing Executive community grant worth £2,120.

Art, laughter and nostalgia have helped to brighten up the winter nights for members of the Ballintoy Young at Heart group who took part in a creative diversity project funded by the Housing Executive.

A community grant worth £2,120 enabled the group to engage older and disabled adults in a series of reminiscence-based arts workshops which fostered social inclusion, emotional wellbeing and intergenerational connection.

Margaret Reid, Chairperson of Ballintoy Young at Heart said, “Thank you so much to the Housing Executive. This has been a great project and the craic was mighty every week at our different workshops. 

“Sadly, we lost two members of our group in the last year so having these activities to come to each week has really helped to lift everyone’s spirits. 

“We had lots of laughs during the storytelling workshop. Everyone enjoyed sharing their own special memories with each other. 

“Thank you also to the tutors who helped us learn new skills like lino-printing and needle-felting over the course of the programme. We loved co-creating artworks that reflected our life experiences and cultural heritage.”

Gareth Doran, Housing Executive Good Relations Officer, Causeway said, “This project has been a huge success. We are very happy to support the Young at Heart group in their efforts to use creativity to bring people together, tackle isolation and explore diversity within their community.”