The refurbishment was financed by DSD’s Belfast Regeneration Office under the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, and includes £223,000 for salary and running costs. As a result, the Centre’s premises on the Springfield Road now boast facilities tailor-made to its needs. This includes up-to-date therapy rooms, training rooms and office space. The Centre aims to help local people address their health needs. Services include a Stress Clinic which provides complementary therapies for vulnerable local people and a project for young people that provides a sexual health awareness drop-in service, health promotion, New Deal placements, and schools work.
Speaking at the official opening, Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie MLA said: “The Management Committee has successfully established Ballymurphy Women’s Centre as a vital part of this community. Members are working to break the cycle of decline in the Upper Springfield/Whiterock area by providing information and support to local people. This makes the Centre a valued partner in implementing Government’s Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy; through which we are working closely with disadvantaged communities across the North to improve their quality of life.”
Ballymurphy Women’s Centre Chairperson, Ann McGrath, said: ''The parents, children and staff are all thrilled with the huge difference made to our new premises as a result of DSD’s funding. The refurbishment has made our surroundings much more pleasant and we are all looking forward to delivering new and better services in the future. The additional funding for salaries and running costs is a lifeline for us, safeguarding jobs and enabling the Centre to remain open and continue to provide an important service to the community.”
Notes to Editors:
1.Total cost of project was £354,000:
£223,030 to refurbishment
£131,011 to salary and running costs up to 31 August 2008.
2.The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy ‘People and Place’ was published in June 2003 to close the gap between the quality of life for people in the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of society.
3.The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy has four interlinking strategic objectives:
Community Renewal – to develop confident communities that are able and committed to improving the quality of life in their areas.
Economic Renewal – to develop economic activity in the most deprived neighbourhoods and connect them to the wider urban economy.
Social Renewal – to improve social conditions for the people who live in the most deprived neighbourhoods through better co-ordinated public services and the creation of safer environments.
Physical Renewal – to help create attractive, safe and sustainable environments in the most deprived neighbourhoods.
4.For further information, contact the DSD Information Office on 028 9082 9078. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Office via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
