#MakingADifference #KidsTogether
13th June 2017
Antrim Senior footballers had the privilege to assist a fabulous group - Kids Together - The members of Kids Together have direct experience of the difficulties faced by children with disabilities and their families including feelings of isolation, difficulties in accessing information and support and difficulty in accessing opportunities for play, leisure and recreation.
Many thanks to De La Salle Belfast for facilitating the event and to O'Neills for the goodie bags & McDonalds for the food! A great event where the children had fun and FULL SELF EXPRESSION!
Congratulations to all involved including the players , Frank Fitzsimmons , Pat Hughes and Paul Buchanan for organising the event with KIDS TOGETHER.
Kids Together is particularly concerned with the need to ensure that there is appropriate community based provision for all children/ Young People and to ensure that the needs of all children, including those with disabilities are met with regards to after-school and play provision.
Their Mission Statement is 'to ensure our children will realise their potential, improve their quality of life and participate fully within their community. Kids Together aims to support children with moderate to severe disabilities whose needs are not met at local community level'.
The purpose of Kids together is to give these children a sense of belonging, stability, acceptance and equality, building friendships and relationships, reducing isolation and increasing social interaction.
There are a significantly high number of young children with disabilities living in the Belfast area. The needs of these children and families are complex and varied. From the experiences of Kids Together working with families living with disability, we know that they face additional problems accessing services, advice and information as well as isolation and particular problems in finding play, recreation and leisure opportunities for their children.
KT continues to work tirelessly in the promotion of equality of opportunity and diversity of services, both to children with disabilities, siblings’ and their parents /guardians, in the provision of:
Afterschool for children aged 4-10
Youth provision for children aged 11-18
Time for me provision for children aged 2-4
Outreach project for children age 4-16
Support group for Parents/ Carers
Family Support
The Senior Footballers were moved and inspired by Kids Together and we hope you enjoy our video with highlights of the Kids Together trip to De La Salle!
#SaffsTogether #KidsTogether
Sean Kelly.
