Carrick Community group teaming up with Fire Service for mental health initiative

Carrickfergus Hub Improving Lives Locally (CHILL) is a voluntary grassroots organisation that was formed to promote positive mental health and raise awareness of suicide prevention.

CHILL is based at the Caretaker’s House at Antrim Street in the town centre and provides support to those who experience poor mental health through a range of programmes which involve peer support, counselling, therapies, group work, well-being, education and training.

Activities include drop-in ‘Chill and Chat’ nights, a menopause cafe, a veterans’ monthly breakfast, CHILL walking group and other initiatives. It was established in 201 in response to suicides in the town and drug addiction.

The group is anticipating that 2023 will be “another very busy year with fuel poverty, food poverty and spiralling debts contributing to additional mental health problems”.

CHILL offers one-to-one counselling support for adults, children and young people provided by nine counsellors and has delivered 1,900 counselling sessions.

Clinical lead Maggie Laverty said: “Currently, there are 60 children on my waiting list. We are supporting people with early intervention, education and a collaborative approach.

“In July, we got a Lottery grant that allowed us to get our own premises. We try to support other local organisations such as the Food Bank and working with others to promote activities and awareness for mental health. We do a lot of work with the police and fire service.”

Smoke Alarm

“For example, if a crew member is fitting a smoke alarm for someone whom they feel may benefit from a Chill and Chat event, they may be referred to the group.”

Maggie went on to say that both can make referrals to CHILL. Recently, the group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS).

“If they are out and about, they can use us as a point of reference if they come across people at risk. They will then do a referral to us.

“We are hoping to help reduce the overall number of fire-related injury in the home by providing fire service literature in our building. We are weaving a web where we can include everybody we possibly can who needs support. We have prevented numerous suicides.”

Brian Smyth, Watch Commander, Carrickfergus Fire Station, said that the NIFRS and CHILL are two organisations with one goal of improving people’s lives.

He said NIFRS has been working with CHILL for the past four years and the Memorandum of Understanding formalises that partnership.

One example of partnership working, he explained, was participation in a health and safety event held by CHILL following a spike in house fire fatalities at the end of last year.

“Carrick station is a community fire station. If we can keep everybody safe by working in conjunction with CHILL, that is what we are about.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter