Ardoyne Shankill Health Partnership (ASHP)
Trustees Report 2023/2024
The organisation provides needs-based services and programmes to groups such as older people, young people, people who feel isolated, people on low incomes, unemployed people and people living with mental health problems along with people living with alcohol and drug dependencies and people who are living unhealthy lifestyles. ASHP promotes the advancement of a holistic health improvement approach that provides people with the opportunity to take charge of their own mental health and wellbeing and gives them the empowerment to take charge of their own health and wellbeing.
We have continued to live and work in challenging and uncertain times throughout 2023/24 with rising costs of living, uncertainty of future long term funding, the after effects of the covid pandemic that has had a devastating impact on our service users, along with people losing their jobs. We have found that the mental health of people living in Ardoyne/Shankill areas has been severely affected. We have seen an increase in people requesting financial help for everyday cost of living rises and we refer them to appropriate welfare rights organisations or apply on their behalf.
Ardoyne Shankill Health Partnership is enabled to work with the help and support of the PHA and other funders to deliver a wide range of programmes and services to both communities and further afield. During 2023/24 we have seen an increase in participants taking part in many of our programmes and services. We have brought many new partners together to provide health promotion programmes and services to local hard to reach people within Ardoyne and Shankill communities. These communities are situated in areas of high deprivation with severe health inequalities. This year we have successfully reached over 4,000 people who have all benefited from the programmes we offer. Participants have reported that they can see an improvement in their health especially their mental health along with improvements within the family unit.
Through working across all sectors and community organisations we have delivered a wide range of health promoting initiatives which helps people to make positive decisions to improve their own health and reduce health inequalities in areas of high deprivation. We empower people to take more control over their personal health, promoting an ethos of peer led self-management for people with long term conditions.
We have developed stronger links within and between people from Nationalist and Unionist communities through focused health promotions programmes which raise awareness of the factors that affect health and well-being and these programmes assist them to better understand all the issues that affect health and respond in a positive way to them by making healthier lifestyle choices. These links are going from strength to strength each year.
Ardoyne Shankill Health Partnership is a member of the local Mental Health Hub, Family Support Hub, Neighbourhood Renewal and Connected Community Care and many other initiatives which empowers local wellbeing. We are also members of the Healthy Living Centre Regional Alliance and work together to bring about change to improve life and allow people to live longer healthier and happier lives.
We value a bottom-up partnership approach engaging local people and organisations to work together to address health inequalities and to improve their own health and that of their communities.
We would like to thank our main funder the PHA and all those who fund ASHP, without their continued support these people would not be able to avail of localised health promotion programmes and services.
Elaine Burns Chair Ardoyne Shankill Health Partnership