Supporting Communities

Our CDOs, Marie-Louise and Orla, recently joined a good practice visit to Glenravel & District Community & Residents Association and Cloughmills Community Action Team, two very well-deserved winners at this year's Rural Community Awards!

The visit was organised by Rural Community Network and the Housing Executive Rural Unit, and included a meeting of the Rural Residents' Forum at Glenravel Community Hub, followed by a tour of their beautiful community garden with exciting future plans for a mini orchard, beekeeping area, and community enterprise already taking shape.

From there, it was on to Cloughmills, where everyone was extremely impressed with what this group has built: a top-tier Men's Shed, a community entertainment space, solar panels, and even a yurt to host activities! They also heard how the group engages local schools and runs a community fridge for their area.

Huge thanks to Glenravel and Cloughmills for having us, and to RCN and NIHE's Rural Unit for organising such an inspiring day! Rural community spirit is alive and thriving!

Here's a great idea from the Glen Estate Inspection in Ards this week! While attendees were out inspecting the estate, they took the chance to do a litter pick too!

As well as collecting rubbish, the group identified a range of issues that need attention, including overgrown areas, dumping, and weeds. Beyond the usual maintenance issues, this was a good opportunity to discuss ideas for improvements within the estate.

Well done, all!

Housing Executive Ark Housing Association Nick Mathison MLA Kellie Armstrong MLA Glen Community Church Glen Ward Community Development Association

🌟Member Spotlight!🌟

When MACCA Resource Centre in Omagh set out to plan this year's summer scheme, they took a chance on something different.

Alongside the usual trips to the cinema and play areas, children aged 5 to 14 spent a full week immersed in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) Future Farmers programme exploring the natural world on their own doorstep.

The risk paid off in a big way!

Read all about it in our member spotlight story on our website here: https://supportingcommunities.org/latest-news/2026/9/8/growing-green-minds-how-maccas-summer-scheme-planted-a-love-of-nature-in-omagh

Learning Made Fun Housing Executive

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Thank you to Ark Community Gardens for hosting the Downpatrick Housing Community Network meeting & good practice event with members of both Downpatrick HCN and Ards & North Down HCN this week!

We spent a really enjoyable morning learning from one another, sharing experiences and considering opportunities for further partnership working. Topics included ASB, sustaining tenancies, and supporting vulnerable individuals and empowering them to fulfil their potential.

It was great to spend a bit of time in the polytunnels and with the animals too!

Huge thanks to our CDOs Orla & Sarah and the Housing Executive GROs Gus & Gerard for organising the visit in partnership.

We'd also like to thank the Housing Executive for supporting a pilot in Ards & North Down, helping reps train through Down Community Transport to drive minibuses - in fact, one of the reps drove us all down to Newcastle for the meeting! A brilliant example of building local capacity and independence.

Stef McKillop is counting down the days to the launch of the ONSIDE Evolution project!

👉Read her blog on our website to find out why she is so excited: https://supportingcommunities.org/blog/2026/9/7/counting-down-the-days-onside-evolution-is-nearly-here

ONSIDE Evolution is delivered in partnership with Disability Action Northern Ireland, Housing Executive, and Independent Living Movement Ireland, helping disabled people and carers across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland become more confident, connected and independent through digital technology.

📩 To find out more or get involved, email: [email protected]

🎉 Big congratulations to Ballykeel 1 Moving Forward Community Group! 🎉

We're delighted to celebrate the successful launch of Strengthening Ballykeel - a fantastic new project developed by the community, for the community, to enhance quality of life for Ballykeel 1 residents!

This 5-year project was made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, and huge credit goes to the group for identifying and responding to real, urgent local needs. Our own Community Development Associate, Marie-Louise, was proud to support the group through their application.

The project will deliver three important services to strengthen wellbeing:
🍽️ Services Luncheon Club - a weekly social connection opportunity for servicemen, women, and their families
☕ Our Chatty Café - a free, inclusive space tackling isolation among older adults, carers, and those facing mental health challenges
💪 Health & Wellbeing Group - providing accessible activities like gentle exercise, nutrition workshops and mindfulness, tailored for people with varying health conditions

This is community-led development at its very best. Ballykeel has identified local need and built real, lasting solutions. Well done to everyone involved on the successful launch!

Housing Executive The National Lottery Community Fund

Did you know we can do custom searches for groups on Grantfinder?

GrantFinder is Europe's leading grants and policy information service featuring over 8,000 continuously updated funding opportunities. If you have an idea for a project in your area, contact us to conduct a funding search, and we’ll produce a report detailing available funding that could be right for your project.

Check out our Funding Support Service, free for Housing Community Network members here: https://supportingcommunities.org/funding

📣 Calling all previous ONSIDE participants!

Were you part of the first ONSIDE project? Would you like the opportunity to refresh and build on your digital skills?

We have a range of one-hour online training sessions coming up over the next few weeks, and we would be delighted to welcome previous ONSIDE participants back on board to take part and access the support available through the new ONSIDE Evolution Project!

📩 To find out more or get involved, please email: [email protected]

ONSIDE EVOLUTION – building skills, confidence and connections.
ONSIDE EVOLUTION is supported by PEACEPLUS.