MOUNTING alarm that the victims of the troubles are being treated 'as second-class citizens' has been created by the news that a popular counselling centre may have to close within weeks.
A campaign to save the Peace Factory - Sunnyside House, based on the Coalisland Road, Dungannon, has been started after it was revealed that the centre was due to be shut down yesterday (Monday).
Local people, facing the prospect that a vital sour
ce of support and comfort will be cut off, have reacted with dismay and anger.
Dungannon woman, Roisin Kelly, who lost her brother 21 years ago, said the news was like ‘a second trauma’ and had left her in shock.
She called on Dungannon Council to step in and save the unit, which treats hundreds of bereaved families every year.
“I can honestly say the Peace Factory and the staff there transformed my life. They pulled me out of a very dark period and provided me with the support I needed.
“It is a fantastic service, which is vitally needed in Tyrone, if we are all to move forward together as a community.”
Ms Kelly added that the council should make saving the centre a priority.
“Of course we need to have flowers growing in pretty baskets, and tourism events, but we also need to address the hidden wounds of the Troubles”, she warned.
Benburb nurse, Heather Martin, who witnessed first-hand the traumatic effects of the Omagh bomb, said the centre’s uncertain future ‘filled her with disappointment and sadness’.
She described the centre as ‘a precious safe haven’ and said staff had helped her through a low point in her life.
“The Omagh bomb had happened - I was nursing and saw first hand the effects of the bomb. This brought back to me my own loss.”
Thanks to the timely intervention by staff at the centre, Heather was able to cope with her loss and move on.
“We need this centre to be kept going so that valuable interventions and support are available to all so that we can deal with the past more effectively”, she said.
Mrs Martin has vowed to take the campaign to Stormont and to lobby politicians to prevent the demise of Sunnyside House.
The Peace Factory was established in 2001 as a cross-community project supported by European funding.
Although the centre has been told it can stay open until September, additional funding has yet to be secured to prevent its demise.
A spokesperson for Dungannon Council said the management board of Peace factory were currently compiling funding applications and pursuing opportunities for victims and survivors of the conflict being administered by Community Relations Council through Measure 1.2 of the Peace III programme.
The full article contains 465 words and appears in Tyrone Times newspaper.
