Larne Well-Being Hub – Member in Focus #41

April 2, 2021

Interview with Bea McRandal from Larne Well-Being Hub

Tell us a bit about yourself and/or your organisation.

Larne Well-Being hub has been supporting our communities mental health and well-being for over 10 years. We have evolved from a charity providing addiction support and training, to one that now also supports all areas of mental health and well-being for individuals (from 4 years and up), groups and families.

Our skilled team offer a range of services such as counselling for children, young people and adults, family support, mentoring for young people/adults, weekly check-ins and group support. We are also bringing a range of workshops this year around resilience building and strengthening families and communities (funded by The National Lottery).

We are keen to respond to the needs of the local community, and are informed by our service users alongside other support agencies. We are firm believers in a targeted collaborative approach being the most effective support for our communities.

How well have you/your organisation adapted to the pandemic?

The pandemic has brought around lots of changes for us all. Many face to face services had to find a new way of working that was safe for all service users and providers. Many of our team trained specifically to offer our counselling and workshops remotely. Face to face services remain closed at the moment, but we are beginning a phased return in the coming months. We will continue to offer some remote services as pandemic restrictions aside, this made us more accessible to many who were unable to attend our service in person.

We are very thankful to the way in which our team responded to the challenges faced, as during the pandemic referrals into our service increased exponentially.

How well have people/organisations in your area collaborated throughout the pandemic?

The collaborative element that has grown throughout the pandemic has been the lovely side of lockdown. Not only has it brought the community together but there was an increase in services linking together to offer more holistic support for the local community. The use of Zoom had also allowed our services to attend more meetings and see more faces behind the emails.

ASK: What do you need, right now, that the members of Community Network NI and/or the wider community may be able to help you with?

As we return to face to face we have a need for more support volunteers. Our volunteers help offer a listening ear and signposting support through individual and group settings. Full training is provided, we would just be grateful of your free time.

If you would like to respond to this ask, please follow the link below and enter “Larne Well-Being Hub” to the first field.

OFFER: What support are you currently offering and are you open to members of Community Network NI and/or the wider community making contact?

Our counselling service is open to individuals aged 4 and up. We can work with a vast range of difficulties (anxiety, depression, relationships, addictions, grief etc). We also provide couple and family support. Referrals can come from agencies or an individual – contact us by phone or email for details.
Mentoring support is open to people aged 13-25 years.
Group support (online currently) runs weekly to offer social connection and well-being support. We also run special monthly sessions that focus on an area of well-being (mental health conditions, resilience, food and mood, managing challenging behaviours – to name a few).
Check in service provides weekly calls for those who need well-being/ social support during this time.
Workshops are coming this year for children, young people and adults.
All services are provided by our team of trained therapists. Our support services are very responsive to current needs.
We also provide financial support (food vouchers) from time to time depending on funding, usually for families with children under ten. We like to work in addition to the food bank and focus on fresh items.

If you would like to be connected with this offer of support, please follow the link below and enter “Larne Well-Being Hub” to the first field.