NI VICTIMS SUPPORT
Borderers,
Support is available for victims of the “troubles” in NI this includes Soldiers and their families. Please see below for a statement from Gemma Canham at SEFF and click on links at bottom of page for more details.
I am contacting you in my role as GB Advocate for South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) which is a UK-wide organisation (also with outreach into the Republic of Ireland and mainland Europe) that provides support to innocent victims/survivors of the Northern Ireland Troubles. We do not engage with anyone who has been involved in either republican or loyalist paramilitary violence. SEFF is clear that in the context of ‘The Northern Ireland Troubles’ that there was no justification for terrorism and/or other criminal violence irrespective of who carried it out – criminal violence was wrong and unjustified.
The LIVES Project (Liberating Innocent Victims Empowering them to Succeed) is SEFF’s GB branch, with offices located in London. This service aims to support innocent victims/survivors of the Northern Ireland Troubles living in England, Scotland and Wales whether they were impacted by terrorism and/or Troubles related violence in Great Britain or were impacted by events which occurred in Northern Ireland or elsewhere; whether bereavement or physical/psychological injury.
The LIVES Project Team has been operating since 2017. This team is formed of one Advocacy Worker, one Health and Wellbeing Caseworker and two Welfare Caseworkers. The Project has provided support to more than 150 direct and indirect victims/survivors of the Troubles and we appreciate that this is but a drop in the ocean in terms of the numbers who will have been adversely impacted.
Those who have accessed our services have benefited from support directed to meet their Justice, Truth, and Acknowledgment needs (Advocacy) and also their Emotional, Psychological and Physical needs (Health and Wellbeing). Furthermore, we have just appointed two Welfare Caseworkers who will be providing support with applications for the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme which can benefit those injured (both physically and psychologically) as a result of Troubles Related Violence.
SEFF is determined to ensure that going forward; GB-based victims/survivors have access to comparable services to their Northern Ireland counterparts, the organisation has campaigned vociferously on the basis of Equality of Access for all those innocents impacted by the Northern Ireland related troubles wherever they happen to be located.