Concert to raise funds for Belfast charity Sólás

Northern Ireland World

Transcript

00:00I'm Joan Henderson and I'm the Managing Director and Founder of Solus and we're a

00:15special needs charity based here in South Belfast.

00:20I suppose Solus was set up really to try and bring a sense of fairness for people that

00:28have disabilities and provide services, practical services that would allow children, young

00:34people and their families to be able to access services in their own community.

00:42We basically just provide a fun and enriching environment for them to meet their developmental

00:46milestones, we try and support them as much as we can, we focus on all their strengths

00:50and their individuality and make everything child centred around them.

00:54It's great that we're able to sort of have that intervention coming in at such an early

00:58age, they're only two and three, so having that intervention at such an early stage of

01:01their life just gives them so much more of an opportunity to build on their potential

01:05and I'm sure that the parents can see themselves the difference that just a few months of having

01:10all those sort of people working with their kids, it is making a big difference to them.

01:19Those early intervention programmes are excellent for identifying and then those children will

01:26continue to transition right through our charity, from our seedlings to our sunflowers

01:34to our afterschools and then into our youth programmes.

01:38We do see that we're meeting the need for them at each stage of development that they're

01:42at and obviously the more early intervention we do, the more demand for the service and

01:47the more and more people get to know about us, so we are ever growing and ever changing.

01:57Micah was diagnosed with autism when he was about two, two and a half.

02:05He's been coming to SOLAS since he was about five or six, that was a little afterschools

02:09club and it gave us as a family time to breathe, it gave us time to be able to work, to keep

02:17a job because there is no childcare for children like Micah, it was just such a desperate need.

02:23SOLAS has been a lifeline to our family and it continues to be a lifeline to our family.

02:30Without SOLAS and the work that they do to bolster families like ours and to give Micah

02:37a space and a time for him and whatever he needs as he grows and develops, I fear for

02:44families like ours.

02:46We were fighting for access, fighting for inclusion, fighting for services, but then

02:54when we were welcomed to SOLAS, we first accessed the summer group and he just came to life

03:00again.

03:01It was amazing, within a week he was speaking again and everything.

03:06He absolutely loves it, he just beams with happiness.

03:12My name is Rosie and I have a little brother called Jack with autism.

03:16I come here for the SOLAS siblings programme.

03:20The SOLAS sibling gives us loads of support and helps us make friends.

03:25The SOLAS siblings help care for their younger or older sibling with autism.

03:30So we went bowling, laser tag, we went up to Algelada to get ice cream and we went down

03:42to Maud's as well.

03:47I love it here.

03:52The Kids' Den is an early intervention support initiative that aims to provide one-to-one

03:57support for primary school aged children who are struggling or disengaging with their education.

04:03We also support children who speak English as a second language and in fact two-thirds

04:08of the children here do speak English as a second language.

04:12We also focus on developing social skills and soft skills, so once the homework is completed

04:18we encourage the children to choose board games and play with each other.

04:25Back on Track is an early intervention initiative for primary aged children and it's about developing

04:33their literacy and numeracy skills.

04:37I am 10, good boy.

04:42This year, academic year, we are looking at over 100 children are receiving the support

04:49from our programme, so we're absolutely delighted about that.

04:53What do you like to eat?

04:58I like pizza.

05:04It's social, it is confidence building, it is feeling good about yourself and it is just

05:11having that bit of special time to be with someone who is actively listening to you.

05:25Play therapy provides a safe space for children to work through their feelings and emotions.

05:31Children don't always have the words or the understanding to express how they're feeling.

05:38SOLAS providing this service is a huge step in the right direction to ensure equal rights

05:45for children with additional needs to access mental health services and the recognition

05:51that their needs in this area are just as prevalent as those of their neurotypical peers.

05:56Long waiting lists just show the demand for the needs for these services.

06:04Last year we had the opportunity to partner with Todd's Sleep and we done a residential

06:08for our youth programme.

06:10We done a range of activities from zip lining, abseiling, scavenger hunts, you name it, it

06:17was wonderful and all our kids had a fantastic time.

06:20It's lovely when you see their faces light up and they're asking, okay we've done bowling

06:25or we've done trampolining, can we maybe try the cinema?

06:28And they're pushing it each time based on their comfort zone and actually being able

06:32to get some of them to go to the cinema or to even go out to the shop and pay for something

06:37themselves, it's fantastic.

06:43In the last number of years we've really outgrown ourselves and become a lot bigger than we

06:47ever anticipated we were needed.

06:49We started off with one person, you know myself, and I suppose we're now at 50 people so in

06:53terms of numbers we're looking at that.

06:55We've grown because the needs have grown and we've started to recognise more and more needs

07:00amongst the people that we started off with and as they have grown their needs have changed

07:04so we've evolved and changed because of that.

07:12I myself access the parent support and wellbeing.

07:16To be in a group with other people who are going through the same thing and we're able

07:22to bounce ideas off each other and tell each other about different services and it's wonderful

07:27support for the parents.

07:29We have a lot of parents that will say that they feel very isolated because their children

07:34have additional needs, maybe their friends don't understand or their family.

07:38This parent group is a place for them to come and meet other parents that are having that

07:43similar experience.

07:44They can go back to their children feeling refreshed and able to take on the daily challenges

07:49that they have with their children.

07:50Solas is a lifeline to us.

07:53It was here when we couldn't access any services.

07:57We don't know where we'd be without it.

08:03We are continuing to grow our respite service and are currently seeking to recruit more

08:08staff so that we can develop and grow this further because there is a great need out

08:11there for respite.

08:12The benefit to the family is of course that they're getting a form of respite then and

08:17they're getting support put in there.

08:19It is a great support to our families and a lot of our families really do depend on

08:23the respite service.

08:26For as long as we've been open we've always had volunteers coming through consistently,

08:31especially through Queen's University.

08:32That would be one of our main links in the community at the minute.

08:35We love having volunteers in the sessions.

08:36It allows us a bit more freedom in them to do more creative activities, messy play and

08:40sensory activities as well.

08:42For the volunteers it's really beneficial because they get to see how our children with

08:46autism and additional needs navigate the world around them.

08:49Having volunteers in it allows us to create relationships within the community.

08:53The more volunteers we have the more people know about us and that's really important

08:56because as a charity service we can always use volunteers coming in.

08:59Just in a general sense it allows them to go out into the general community then understanding

09:04that people are different and people see things differently and work differently.

09:12SONA stands for Supporting Opportunities for New Adults.

09:14It is a day service programme for support for adults that are transitioning from school,

09:18age 19 plus, from children's services to adult disability services.

09:22I think it helps them to grow on their own self-confidence and stuff and I also think

09:26it helps society to be able to see people more.

09:29They're getting the same opportunities as every other individual in society.

09:32Being able to go out for a coffee, being able to pay for their own things and experience

09:36the same thing that everybody else in society gets to experience.

09:45There's people that we're forgotten about and really that isn't ultimately fair.

09:49You know everybody has the right to have a fair crack at life and I think you shouldn't

09:54have to keep fighting for those services.

09:56They should be much more accessible in your place, in your community.

10:00I think we just need to think about how we're all part of communities and that there are

10:06other people that need to be included.

10:09There are children up all night, there are kids that break beds every time you put a

10:13new bed in a room.

10:14You know there are young kids that find it really difficult to even just go into a shop

10:19without actually causing mayhem.

10:21There are families that actually have very, very challenging circumstances to try and

10:25live in and we just need to be able to put our arms around them and walk with them for

10:31that part of the journey and help them.

10:43For more information, visit www.fema.gov

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