ENTERPRISE WITHIN PHARMACY HARRISON HEALTHCARE BElfAST


WhIlE MAny PEoPlE EQUATE SoUTh BElfAST WITh ThE lEAfy AVEnUES of ThE MAlonE roAD, PhArMACIST, ColIn hArrISon, KnoWS only Too WEll ThAT ThErE’S A lESS AfflUEnT SIDE To ThE ArEA.


C


olin’s pharmacy – harrison healthcare – is situated on Belfast’s Donegall Pass, an


area which, in addition to housing the majority of the province’s Chinese community, is also home to both Protestant and Catholic families, many of whom are suffering from social deprivation and live disadvantaged lives.


Keen to do something positive to help the young men in his local area – particularly those with mental health issues – Colin set up a project through the pharmacy, which was designed to improve the confidence and abilities of young men and their families by encouraging them to speak openly about their problems.


‘My main objective,’ Colin told Pif, ‘was to improve the social experience of the young men with mental health problems by building the young men’s confidence and abilities, and to get them involved and engaged with both their local communities and their neighbouring communities through activities and exercise.


‘I also wanted to improve their understanding of their current prescription drugs, and the dangers of concurrent use of alcohol and street drugs, and to signpost them to the various support groups, who could help them.


‘While all of these objectives were serious and vital to good mental


health, I also wanted them to simply have fun!’


Keen to build community relations between the three parts of the south Belfast urban village, Colin also ensured that the project group was a mix of the two religious communities.


The first meeting was attended by more than 20 young men, and this indicated to Colin and his team that there was indeed a need for this sort of group.


‘on the first week,’ Colin continued, ‘we had one-to-one sessions, which included a health assessment that we had created in the pharmacy. This allowed us to generate ideas for the future workshops which took place over the next few months.


‘our first trip was fishing and the idea wasn't just about ‘fishing’ in the literal sense, but was also intended to get the men to open up, allowing us to ‘fish’ for ideas as to what they really had concerns about.


‘Many of the young men had employment worries and this kept coming up as a major concern, along with money and relationship worries.


‘over the course of the next few months, therefore, we worked with the individuals - sometimes one to one, sometimes in groups - to improve their employability skills.


‘We held CV classes, for example, to show them how to sell themselves to prospective employers and we practised one-to-one interviews.


‘We also had employers such as o'hare Mcgovern coming in to chat to the men, which was really useful. In fact, after many weeks, o'hare Mcgovern actually offered six apprenticeships to the men!


‘In addition to employment issues, we also covered healthy eating, along the lines of ‘eat better, feel better’, and the men had free physical training sessions in Pure gym.


‘The physical training is currently running with a group comprising the boys and two members of the pharmacy every Tuesday night, so we’re all benefitting!


‘DIy skills was another area of development that we worked on, encouraging the men to help the elderly in their community, and to work in the community garden, where the men created bird houses and planter boxes.


‘This was great for both the men – because it helped them feel part of the community, and for the community itself, which benefitted from the work that was done.


‘one or two men had street drug problems and we identified this early on and managed to get them places


on rehab courses. Despite the fact that some weeks had a higher attendance than others, we persevered and kept the group together.


‘At the end of the summer – in a bid to reward the men for their continued efforts and attendance - we ran a Bear grylls survival course in the Mourne mountains.


‘This was intended to highlight the men’s survival skills, perseverance skills, and fitness skills, which had all improved greatly over the weeks.


‘We were delighted to have support from various charities over the course of the weeks. Action Mental health, for example ran fun sessions, which made the men feel at ease.


‘one of the things that particularly pleased me about this project was the diversity of the group. It was great to see Catholic, Protestant and ethnic minorities in the group, all working well together, and in fact looking out for each other.


‘The group success was all down to the individuals and they were not only a pleasure, but also great fun to work with, with many laughs along the way. After all, it's the best medicine.’


PhArMACy In foCUS - 21


Paula O’Brien, Alliance Healthcare and Colin Harrison, Harrison Healthcare


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