Young Parents, Healthier Lifestyle
Artillery Youth Centre is a youth-led project based in the New Lodge area of North Belfast. They partnered with Paul O’Kane from McFadden’s Chemist in Duncairn Gardens for the “Young Parents Healthier Lifestyle” project. Together they worked with a group of young parents to identify health issues that affect them and their families. They ran a series of health information sessions covering topics such as drug/alcohol abuse and mental health.
The participants and their extended families have benefitted from this programme through learning from each other and by building a relationship with their local Pharmacist. The project provided a learning curve for the local Pharmacist in helping him understanding the problems and issues faced by young parents in the local area that impact on their health. The most positive aspect of the programme was the ability of the young parents to open up and discuss sensitive issues in a comfortable environment.
Following the programme, the percentage of participants who said they had a good understanding of how to improve their health had more than tripled. Three quarters of them also said they had made healthy changes to the way they live.