A COMMUNITY group which helps families from minority backgrounds – and runs its services from the Cultúrlann on the Falls Road – is looking to expand their programmes with other groups in the coming year.
Eyi Yemi Bamidele runs Family Comfort NI. Yemi explained that the group was set up to help families in the area deal with a range of issues.
“We were set up to help young people, women and children who are struggling due to domestic violence, discrimination and inequality," she said. "We predominantly support families from the minority ethnic background due to the nature of the experiences that people from minority ethnic backgrounds go through."
RECIPES: Children from Family Comfort taking part in a cooking class
Yemi continued: “We see the need for support groups like ours to help people in Belfast who are experiencing racial discrimination and we have over 140 families that we help. Sometimes we only help a family only once but other times we will work with a family for several years and we have seen several young people grow up from children into adults through our time working with their families."
Yemi added that the group also give a lot of advice and signposting for those in need, as well as helping with food and utilities for those who are struggling.
“As much as possible we will help families all over Northern Ireland but most of the families we help are in Belfast, we are open to everyone. Family support means we provide a listening ear and we give advice and also help signpost people and refer people to the help or organisation that can help them. A lot of people we help don’t know what organisation can help them so we will provide ways they can get the help they need.
“We also help families with food and with their utilities when we can. We do food parcels and that has happened a lot because of the cost of living crisis. We have two youth clubs for children.
"We found a lot of young people from minority ethnic backgrounds face a lot of discrimination and a lot of them don’t go out so we have a youth programme so they can come in and socialise and build their communication skills and we also work with other youth organisations to help young people integrate into the community."
TOGETHER: Women from Family Comfort with Yemi at the Cultúrlann
Family Comfort run a wide range of programmes and also work with local community groups but are looking to expand the number they work with to help families from minority backgrounds integrate and make a proper home for themselves in Belfast.
Yemi said: “We also run homework programmes, cookery clubs, creative clubs and dance clubs for young people as well as sports and trips to places outside Belfast. We work very closely with the Cultúrlann’s youth programme and a local dance collective and also Ardoyne Youth Club."
However, Yemi added that people from minority backgrounds continue to face a lot of discrimination in Belfast and many of those who use Family Comfort's services have been on the receiving end of attacks or abuse, with Yemi using the experience of the discrimination she personally faced to bring others together to form Family Comfort.
MUSIC: Family Comfort run a range of youth services for local children from minority backgrounds
Yemi said: “A lot of minority ethnic people here face a lot of discrimination in Belfast, we are working with a family at the moment and the mother was attacked and ended up in the hospital. A neighbour ripped off her headscarf and hit her. It happens to children too; we have seen children with bruises who have been beaten in school. I have lived here for over ten years and the organisation was founded through my own experiences of discrimination.
“Back then there was nothing for people like me. My children faced a lot of discrimination in school and we had eggs thrown at our door. Fortunately, I got together with others in the same position and we decided to form Family Comfort. Now if discrimination comes up we can give families support if they are in that position and help them manage the situation. We encourage positive ways for dealing with discrimination and other problems."
FUN: The women's group is a large part of the work Family Comfort provides
The group are looking forward to 2024 and continuing their programmes but Yemi said they are very much open to expanding and working with other groups in the area and will be looking forward to their yearly cultural event where users share their stories, food and culture from their backgrounds.
“This year we will still be running our youth groups and our young people will be learning core digital skills and graphic design. We are looking also to work with more local youth groups and youth facilities and we would very much like to work with other groups.
"We will also be holding our big community event which we hold every year in which we share our stories and backgrounds and we share food and different aspects of our culture with others. We are looking for more collaborations this year with other local community groups.”
