Urban Villages - Focus Magazine {Issue 11)

SOUTH BELFAST Sandy Row, Donegall Pass & the Markets

Dads Day Out Belfast South Community Resources (BSCR) teamed up with Sandy Row Football Club to run a range of practical activities for the Dads of the team as part of the Parents Connect programme. The Dad’s Day Out initiative supports and promotes good mental wellbeing, while having fun and giving the Dads some much needed time to connect with other men from the Urban Villages area. Due to lockdown and the amateur football season being cancelled, this opportunity South Belfast Sure Start ran a ‘Cooking at Home’ programme, connecting with families from across the Urban Village area. Families received a healthy food box containing all the ingredients needed for 2 meals each week, as well as enough fruit for the whole week. Families cooking at home

well as videos on how to have a healthy balanced diet. The videos and pictures of our families cooking and eating together says it all. The children really enjoyed coming out to collect the boxes and helping their parents cook the food. Families chatted online about how they found cooking the recipes and we saw some lovely food from around the world. The programme also activities that give them a chance to off-load, connect, chat and get to know each other, and me. Dads day out gave me a chance to build relationships and explain to the local dads what my role is and how I can help support them and their families.” children’s emotional well-being. Studies have shown that when fathers are affectionate and supportive it instils an overall sense of well-being and self confidence in their children. Working in partnership with Jamesy from the local football team, we were able to identify dads to take part in outdoor

Alternative ingredients were provided to those families with religious, cultural or other dietary requirements, so everybody could join in. The family support team then made videos in their own kitchens demonstrating how to make family favourites like stew, soups and roast chicken and vegetables. The videos and recipes were sent to parents on the day of the deliveries, as Jamie-Lee Peden, BSCR Parent Support Worker; “Connect All Parents South is a project for mums and dads in South Belfast. I recognise that mums and dads are pillars in the development of their them to reduce stress. “There’s never too much for men so it’s great that we were able to get out and do activities with other men to help support our mental health.” Andy, participant. was all the more important to help keep the Dads active. The Dads took part in a range of activities including Footgolf and Go Karting, which helped

Urban Villages Initiative | Focus Magazine Issue 11