Objectives and Activities
West Belfast as a community has suffered significant loss and trauma over the period of the troubles/conflict. VAST was established to help individuals and families directly affected by the events that occurred during the troubles/conflict in Ireland. The organisation aims to address a legacy of physical and mental pain, un-employability, broken homes, lack of confidence, low selfesteem, social isolation, poverty, and marginalisation.
VAST’s primary activity is to support victims and survivors of the troubles/conflict in Ireland through a range of grass root-based resilience programmes and tailored and specialist health and wellbeing services.
Victims and Survivors Trust offer coping mechanisms to ameliorate the suffering of those affected by the conflict and to enable participants to re-engage in educational and social spheres as part of reintegration into normal society. Our core business includes offering support, advice, friendship, and involvement in a physically and emotionally safe environment to victims/survivors so that they can tell their personal story, rebuild self-esteem, confidence, and social contact as a way of moving towards closure and healing.
The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Achievements and Performance
Under our social support programmes, we ran drop-in days, yoga classes and three respites throughout the year.
Under our personal and professional development programmes, we ran numerous training sessions, arts classes, and resilience classes.
Our mental health covered our complimentary therapies and our talking therapies. Under our complimentary therapies we delivered 250 hours of complimentary therapies with 50 people benefiting from these. Our talking therapies delivered 145 sessions to 18 clients.
Objectives
To advance education and provide relief to persons who have been directly affected by the conflict within Ireland. Our programs offer relief and enhanced confidence to people affected by ongoing conflict-related trauma. VAST provides a holistic response to the person’s needs, including a range of health-related interventions and referrals when appropriate.
To relieve need and hardship, preserve, and protect the health of persons who have been directly affected by the conflict within Ireland. The impact of these services has been life-changing for users and their families.
Advancement of human rights: We aid and referrals in terms of dealing with the past, specifically in relation to engaging with bodies aiming to determine the truth regarding historical murder investigations. The public benefit of our work is that individuals and families who are affected are supported and are less vulnerable or at risk. This support makes the process easier and more likely to be successful for those involved, thus helping to maximise the possibility of people getting closure and being able to move back into a shared society. This has a wider impact on the community in that it provides better opportunities for a reconciled society.
Participating members of the group have made donations throughout the year towards the organisation, due to their kindness an amount of £2,548.87 was raised.