OMAGH SPOKESMAN SUPPORTS NEW SURVEY ON TROUBLES VICTIMS
Omagh spokesman supports new survey on Troubles victims
LOCAL victims of the Troubles have been encouraged to speak up about their suffering in a questionnaire issued to people living in Tyrone and Fermanagh.
The Cross-Partnership Needs Analysis Study is being conducted by Sperrin and Lakeland Health Trust, as well as a group composed of members of Fermanagh, Strabane and Omagh District councils.
It is hoped that the survey will help to identify possible improvements that could be made to existing services.
According to organiser Sean Coll this is the first time such a survey has been conducted.
"The questions are probing the impact which trauma has had on the community and how well services like education and social services respond to the challenges."
Mr Coll said that many people had suffered for over thirty years, not only in silence but in ignorance of the true cause of their depression.
"People do not feel comfortable thinking about their problems but now they have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and how they have been treated."
Omagh Self-help Group Spokesman Michael Gallagher, who is based at the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation in Omagh, supported the venture, "The real victims have not been targeted here before. The victim's strategy is so wide in Northern Ireland that it is our belief that less than 50% of the money available to victims is actually reaching them."
Mr Gallagher reiterated the importance of including victims in the process "The study needs to be sharply focused on the victims of the Troubles, particularly those who were severely injured or bereaved over the last thirty five years."
More information is available by e-mailing: victims-programme@slt.n-i.nhs.uk.
LOCAL victims of the Troubles have been encouraged to speak up about their suffering in a questionnaire issued to people living in Tyrone and Fermanagh.
The Cross-Partnership Needs Analysis Study is being conducted by Sperrin and Lakeland Health Trust, as well as a group composed of members of Fermanagh, Strabane and Omagh District councils.
It is hoped that the survey will help to identify possible improvements that could be made to existing services.
According to organiser Sean Coll this is the first time such a survey has been conducted.
"The questions are probing the impact which trauma has had on the community and how well services like education and social services respond to the challenges."
Mr Coll said that many people had suffered for over thirty years, not only in silence but in ignorance of the true cause of their depression.
"People do not feel comfortable thinking about their problems but now they have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and how they have been treated."
Omagh Self-help Group Spokesman Michael Gallagher, who is based at the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation in Omagh, supported the venture, "The real victims have not been targeted here before. The victim's strategy is so wide in Northern Ireland that it is our belief that less than 50% of the money available to victims is actually reaching them."
Mr Gallagher reiterated the importance of including victims in the process "The study needs to be sharply focused on the victims of the Troubles, particularly those who were severely injured or bereaved over the last thirty five years."
More information is available by e-mailing: victims-programme@slt.n-i.nhs.uk.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1681
Published Date: 12-Aug-04
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