WAVE Trauma Centre celebrates its 30th birthday

THE Troubles left us a legacy of pain, loss and trauma – the Omagh bomb killed 28 people, injured dozens more, and left a web families and friends picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Other members of our community still grieve for relatives and friends injured and lost in other acts of violence through the conflict.

To cope with collective and personal trauma, and to mitigate against the dangerous bitterness and resent that can thrive in such conditions, a society needs people who can hold the humanity of the victims above all else.

This ethos of prioritising victims is at the heart of Omagh’s WAVE Trauma Centre, the local branch of the largest cross-community victims’ group in the North.

WAVE was established in 1991 in Belfast, as a voluntary organisation to offer care and support to anyone bereaved, traumatised or injured as a result of the Troubles. It first arrived in Omagh in September 1998 after the town centre atrocity.

Their first Omagh home was at the First Trust Bank – here, they established themselves as a fundamentally inclusive organisation concerned with providing care for anyone who needed it, irrespective of religious, cultural or political belief.

They then moved to the Bridge Centre, then to Old Market Yard, before on October 13, 2005, relocating to Holmview Avenue, where they offered therapy and community for people in Tyrone and Fermanagh for 15 years. But in April past, WAVE moved from its urban site in Campsie to its new premises at Lovers’ Retreat – here, beside the Camowen river, surrounded by peaceful greenery, a new world of therapeutic possibilities opened for staff and clients alike.

Before they moved into their new premises in April they spent time painting the property, choosing the perfect lighting, sanding the floors, thoughtfully investing in new equipment, and even adding a wood-burning stove, in effect, cultivating a space conducive to a range of new therapies and activities

But how does WAVE connect with trauma victims and aid the healing process? Nathasha Galbreith, a project manager at Omagh WAVE, explained.

“Fundamentally, WAVE try to help clients achieve health and wellbeing by supplying them with the tools and knowledge needed to cope with trauma, both in themselves and others,” said Natasha.

“Traditional talking therapies like psychotherapy continue to form a core part of services – and these are supplemented by complementary treatments which manage physical and mental pain.”

They also offer practical support including advice on social security benefits, universal credit and tribunal representation, as well as a dedicated advocacy support service for legacy issues.

But while traditional therapies have proven an efficacious means of addressing trauma-derived trouble with clients through the years, WAVE have found some softer, more oblique approaches have been beneficial in enhancing personal development and reducing isolation.

Natasha said, “We have a horticulture group, bee keeping classes, craft classes, book binding, mosaic workshops, a drawing with colour course, and cookery classes, as well as upcycling and tone-up Tuesdays, in which members revitalise old furniture.”

She continued, “Leading up to Christmas new clients are welcome to join. We will have workshops on decorative wreaths, using garden foliage to decorate table centres, as well as other craft workshops… and also have winter warmer slow cooker class. WAVE will be running a Christmas craft fair on November 26 and 27 and throughout the festive season will have a variety of workshops, and we will even have a Santa’s grotto for the children.”

l For more information, follow WAVE Trauma Centre on Facebook to keep up-to-date with what’s happening.

By Emmet McElhatton

e.mcelhatton@ulsterherald.com