Two local projects have been recognised with nominations for the 2023 IPB Pride of Place Awards.
The Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership’s Minding Mum Project and the Sion Mills Community Forum have been nominated for the prestigious competition that acknowledges and celebrates community work across Ireland.
The awards are organised by peacebuilding charity Co-operation Ireland and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Clayton Hotel in Dublin later this month.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Sandra Duffy, sent her congratulations to the successful initiatives who were nominated following a selection process by Council’s Community Development team.
“The IPB Pride of Place Awards are a national celebration of the selfless efforts made by people on the ground to make our neighbourhoods better places to live, work and socialise,” she said.
“These two local projects in Sion Mills and the Waterside are ideal examples of that, bringing together people from different backgrounds to support and improve their lives through a wide range of activities.
“The end of Covid restrictions has meant community initiatives such as this are back hosting groups across our City and District and I am delighted that local people can avail of all their benefits once again.”
The Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership Minding Mum Project is contending for the title of best Community Wellbeing initiative at the awards.
Established in 2008, the partnership is an inter-agency partnership made up of representatives from the community and statutory sectors who have come together to take a collaborative approach to improve the life chances of local people.
Based on identified need, a number of key projects have been delivered including Minding Mum, a holistic maternal mental health programme that supports pregnant mothers and mothers of children aged up to one year.
The programme provides tailored workshops and programming for pregnant women and new mums to support their mental health.
It provides opportunities for new mums to get together to support each other to reduce the isolation and anxiety many new mothers experience after the birth of their child.
Sion Mills Community Forum (SMCF) is a cross community organisation that aims to make the village a happier, safer environment to live in.
The Forum works with all sectors of the community offering a range of projects and interventions and represents local residents on various agencies and boards.
They run mental health and wellbeing projects for older men and women including creative arts classes and a men’s fitness and well-being project.
The SMCF also deliver a youth mental health peer mentoring programme that targets those most hard to reach and helps tackle and reduce anti-social behaviour in the village.
The Forum is a voluntary run organisation that prides itself in listening, responding and addressing needs in the local village.
The winners of each category will be unveiled on Saturday January 21st at the Clayton Hotel, for further details of the awards visit prideofplace.ie.
Tags: