“I feel I haven’t been able to be myself since this began.” This is the hard to hear lockdown experience of one young person, who’s part of the Rainbow Project’s ‘Out North West’ programme. And it is truth like this that galvanizes those who head...
“People have been in tears on their doorsteps; they were asking – how did you think of me?” Wendy Kerr, who manages Impact Network NI, talks with passion as she articulates how many of the connections they forged during the coronavirus period had a depth...
“When you answered the phone you just didn’t know what you were going to be asked…” That’s how the last few months have been for Mandy Kearns, who’s manager of east Belfast Alternatives. Whether it was cries of help for food, someone to talk to,...
“We’ve all come through so much in Belfast; there’s so much more to these communities than ever gets out; the number of people who are just so quick to switch on & help.” Seamus Corr, from Blackmountain Shared Space Initiative, reflects on the last few...
What’s the link between hot chocolate, a heart for the underdog and rehab opportunities for human trafficking survivors? Well, in the first of a series of spotlights on change makers here, David McIlroy has been speaking to social activist Tara Mullen of Refuge Hot Chocolate...
With big picture politics here in paralysis, it can seem that real change is forever eluding us. There’s a sense that the political breakdown is costing us – when it comes to the advancement of peace & reconciliation. In fact the tragedy is that some...
Four women’s groups have come together in east Belfast to try and overcome divides in this part of the city. The women were from Short Strand Women’s Group, the Diamond, East Belfast Independent Women’s Group and the Lagan Athletic Ladies’ Football Club. The challenge was...
By CMC photos – a series of images to capture the hope that can be all too easy to miss in spaces right across our city… If you’re passionate about photography – N.I – and hope – then you might like to submit some of...