Causeway Coast Vineyard

Causeway Coast Vineyard – Compassion Projects

Compassion Projects are a response to various needs encountered in our community of Coleraine and along the Causeway Coast.  Our overall aim is to provide a collaborative programme of healthcare, economic and social assistance which engages with the displaced and socially excluded in the community at their point of need, with an unambiguous agenda for individual improvement and social reform.

Our current projects focus on:

1.    Food poverty

•    Sunday Food Giveaway: The aim of the Sunday Food Giveaway is to create a welcoming environment where people suffering from food poverty can come on a designated day and time to pick up an Emergency Food Pack in a way that maintains their dignity and self-esteem. We currently have over 530+ families connecting with this project, feeding up to 70+ families weekly. In January 2011 we will extend this service to incorporate a healthcare and advice programme provided by a volunteer team of medical and nursing personnel.

•    Compassion Christmas Dinner: Our aim is to create a high quality ‘family’ environment where individuals or families who are on their own or are financially in need can enjoy a Christmas Day together with a 4 course dinner, individualized gifts and afternoon family entertainment. In 2009 we served 60 people at our Christmas Dinner, in 2010 we served 50 guests.

2.    Supporting the vulnerable

•    Active Listening Team: This is a collaborative project comprising volunteers from local churches who help the Police in supporting the vulnerable in the area. When the Police get phone calls asking for help in areas which are outside their duty of care such as debt, addictions, poverty, bereavement, attempted suicide and self harm, the Active Listening Team arrange to visit the individuals in their homes and providing support and care to the vulnerable in need.

•    Night Light: Our team of volunteers serves tea and coffee on the streets of Portstewart on Friday nights from 12mn until 3am to those coming out of pubs and clubs, befriending, helping keep the peace and supporting the vulnerable.

•    Senior Moments: Our aim is to build relationships with seniors in local nursing homes and show them God’s love in a caring and practical ways, through  weekly visits in the homes to provide various social events and Sunday services.

3.    Financial poverty

•    Debt Counselling: We are the local centre of a national debt counselling charity (Christians Against Poverty) and run an individualized, sustainable poverty relief programme. We meet clients in their own homes and provide debt counselling, practical help and teach budgeting skills. We do follow-up visits to encourage relationships and refer clients to other compassion projects if needed. We have worked with 51 individuals since starting this service in March 2010.

•    Money Management Course: We run money management courses that teach budgeting skills and a simple, cash-based money management system. Courses last three evenings and, in 2010 we ran four of these courses in locally-accessible, central town locations with seventy five delegates. In 2011 we plan to continue to run these in the centre of Coleraine as well as in community-based, neighbourhood facilities such as Harpurs Hill Family Centre and Coleraine Simon Community.  

Website:  http://www.causewaycoastvineyard.com/