A retired train conductor who suffered with severe depression is now helping others battling cost-of-living pressures.
Stephen O’Hara runs a men’s group to help with depression and also drops food parcels for up to 100 people a week. The Coleraine man once could not get out of bed due to his struggles, but found that helping other people would also help himself too.
He is back on his feet delivering food to those in the Coleraine community who are struggling to make ends meet, despite struggling to pay his own bills. After crucial support from the Northern Ireland National Lottery-funded charity Be Safe Be Well, Stephen says he is eager to make a difference himself and seek to help others through hard times.
Read more: NI man on how walking 'saved his life' with improved mental health
"I’ve had depression myself, so I know what it’s like and can help those when running the men’s group with depression," Stephen said.
"I've encountered people that have no heating. I know one mother of three who has no oil in her car and hasn't done for about six months. She had no money and the food cupboards were empty.
"If I wasn't doing what I am with the food drops, there would be a lot more people struggling. I worry that people won’t see a way out, and will really hurt themselves, either turning to alcohol or taking their own life."
Be Safe Be Well runs Men’s Sheds across the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area which improve the health and well-being of men aged over 25. They are using a £500,000 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, over four years to continue to support existing Men’s Sheds across Coleraine, as well as set up a new shed in the Laurel Hill area.
The sheds provide a safe, positive, inclusive, and creative community space. Members can socialise, learn new skills, receive counselling and peer support, and be more involved in their community.
Thanks to National Lottery players, the money has helped some of the most vulnerable people impacted by the cost-of-living crisis in local communities.
And new figures released this week through The National Lottery Community Fund’s latest Community Research Index shows that six in ten people in Northern Ireland (59%) believe that supporting people with the rising cost-of-living is most important for the wellbeing of their local community, with almost exactly one in two in Northern Ireland (49%) intending to volunteer in 2023 with young people (18 to 24) leading the way (65%).
National Lottery funding distributors - encompassing sports, arts, heritage, and community - collectively awarded over £1 billion pounds to support communities throughout the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, to help them cope and recover. And now the £30 million raised each week by National Lottery players for good causes is at the forefront in supporting communities who need it the most during the cost-of-living crisis.
Stephen said he could not be more grateful to National Lottery players and hopes the impact of the funding across all corners of the nation can continue to make a difference.
He added: "I think the Men’s Sheds are really important, because if we weren’t around, there wouldn't be that interaction between men.
"The impact on the community would be very negative. For example, we have people with learning difficulties come in and they’re treated like everybody else. They have fun, do something positive, something creative, like helping to build a bench.
"I encourage certain men to go there because if they don’t, they sit at home wasting away. But they go there and they enjoy themselves. It’s like an extended family. On some of the most miserable days of the year you will find men from the group working out in the cold and rain just to get that camaraderie and to chat.
"The boys’ mental health has been so good because of that."
National Lottery players raise more than £30 million a week for arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport, and voluntary projects across the UK; see the difference it’s making near you HERE.
READ NEXT:
- Krispy Kreme set to open first Northern Ireland store with new 'Belfast hub'
- NI designer Hope Macaulay on seeing Jennifer Hudson wearing one of her pieces
- Cost-of-living: NI mum opens up on sharing baths at home to save hot water
- Fundraising appeal for Belfast children left orphaned after mum's death
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
