skip to main content
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
Text size:

Towards Understanding and Healing

Documents 457 days overdue

Overdue: 457 days

Charity no. 105226 Company no. 614615 Date registered. 25/04/2016

Public benefits

The direct benefits, which flow from this purpose, include a reduction in stress and an alleviation of trauma suffered by those affected both directly and indirectly by the conflict in Northern Ireland. Participants have an opportunity to engage across sectarian community divides, in an effort to better understand and integrate with each other,

with a view to building a better future. They also include the building of relationships between individuals and communities from diverse cultures, providing an opportunity for relationship building and better understanding of each other’s cultures, history and experiences. The benefits are demonstrated through oral and written feedback from participants, independent evaluation and feedback by facilitators of respective programmes and other organisations. There is a possibility that participants of the programmes may become re-traumatised if they are not cared for adequately, or that they may not feel safe interacting with perceived ‘enemies’. However, each programme is founded on stringent best practice guidelines, developed and administered by trained and experienced professionals to specifically address these potential issues. The beneficiaries of this purpose are the people and communities of Northern Ireland who choose to participate, and future generations who will benefit from the creation of good relations and increased integration between these communities.

What your organisation does

Towards Understanding and Healing’ is a project that focuses on the needs of the individual by creating a space for reflection and recognition of individual experience and supporting individuals to share their stories. Because Northern Ireland is the way that it is, no one person can tell the story and this project emphasises the need to hear all

the disparate narrative in order to open minds to other possibilities. There is also a reality that, within the field of conflict resolution and peace building, there has been little focus on individual and community trauma as a result of over three decades of violence - ‘Towards Understanding and Healing’ offers a space for people to begin to articulate and share personal stories and also listen to other stories or ‘truths’ in a way that does not diminish their own personal experience.

The charity’s classifications

  • The advancement of citizenship or community development
  • The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity

Who the charity helps

  • General public
  • Interface communities

How the charity works

  • Cross-border/cross-community
  • Cultural

Charity accounts & reports for financial year end 31 March 2019

Independent examiners report Charity accounts Trustee annual report

Charity accounts & reports for financial year end 31 March 2018

Independent examiners report Charity accounts Trustee annual report

Charitable purposes

The company’s Objects (“Objects”) are specifically restricted to the following: to relieve suffering and distress and promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (hereinafter called the area of benefit) by associating the statutory authorities, community and voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in a common effort to relieve those affected by conflict and sectarianism, promote good community relations and advance education and in particular: (a) to alleviate suffering and trauma by assisting victims and survivors of the Conflict within the area of benefit to address their own personal experiences of hurt, loss and trauma by communicating their experiences to others and to support victims and survivors of the Conflict, and those who work with them, to work towards healing processes and dealing with the past in a way that allows people to move towards a shared future; (b) to provide opportunities for cross community and intra- community dialogue which build and maintain mutual understanding and respect within and between communities by bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds in a safe environment to tell and hear their stories and facilitating dialogue that allows people from different backgrounds and cultural traditions to speak fully and be listened to, whilst creating opportunities for the exploration of each other’s ideology, perceptions, attitudes, and sense of history; (c) to advance understanding of the effects of the conflict and sectarianism on individuals and communities and public awareness of the personal experience of those affected; (d) to advance any other exclusively charitable purpose for the benefit of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as the directors may, from time to time, decide in accordance with the law of charity.

Governing document

Memorandum and Articles

Other name

  • 5 Trustees
  • 2 Employees
  • 0 Volunteers

Contact details

  • Tel: 02871361942

Public address

  • Towards Understanding And Healing, 12-14 Bishop Street, Londonderry, BT48 6PW

Trustee board

Trustee
Mr Richard Moore
Mr Eamonn Deane
Mr Michael Doherty
Mr Jim O'neill
Mrs Maureen Hetherington

List of regions

  • In Northern Ireland
Export to CSV PDF version