Marking 18 years since its official opening, the ARC Healthy Living Centre, Irvinestown are celebrating by launching an exciting new EU INTERREG VA funded initiative called CoH-Sync. The ARC Centre, a refurbished building based within Sallys Wood estate was officially opened in 2001, with the ethos of inclusion and positive expectation fundamental to the survival and success of the project. The ARC Centre responds to the needs of the local community by providing opportunities to enable and empower people to develop their own resources for creative and healthy living.

The ARC Healthy Living Centre aims to address health inequalities and improve the well-being of local people by bringing together a partnership of community health activities and services.

‘CoH-Sync’ which is short for Community Health Synchronisation, is in keeping with the ARC ethos of helping people help themselves.

CoH-Sync is a cross border, European Union INTERREG VA funded project and is now available to anyone aged 18 years and over who wants to begin their journey to getting healthier but doesn’t know where to start. Whether it is help to quit smoking, adopt healthier eating habits, make new connections in your community or just generally feel better about life, CoH-Sync can help.

EU INTERREG VA grant funding totalling €5.01 million was secured for the CoH-Sync project by the cross border health services partnership, Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) to deliver the project in border areas of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Western Scotland. This EU funding was awarded by the Special EU Programmes Body and the Western Health and Social Care Trust, as one of the CAWT partner organisations, was successful in securing two Health and Wellbeing Hubs for their area. Additional match-funding has been provided by the Departments of Health in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Commenting on ARC’s success in securing the CoH-Sync Hub contract valued at £364,375, Jenny Irvine, CEO of ARC said: “We are delighted to be working with partners in Oak Healthy Living Centre, Lakeland Community Care and Fermanagh Rural Community Network delivering this new project within the Fermanagh area. At ARC we always believed the only way to address health problems was to start from the bottom up - not by dictating what needed to happen but by encouraging and supporting people to take control of their own health, and in doing so, their own lives.”

She continued: "This is the beauty of the CoH- Sync Service, which is people themselves, with support, deciding how best to improve their health, what would work for them and what would not. This is the key to the service in that it offers people the chance to empower themselves and start making positive decisions about their healthcare."

Jenny added: “I would encourage everyone to sign up to an initial consultation with one of our CoH-Sync Health Facilitators, who take the time to listen to you and work with you to create a plan based on your needs.”

If you want to take that first step to leading a healthier life then the CoH-Sync service could be for you. For more information on the CoH-Sync project locally or to find out how you can book the services of a Health Facilitator contact: Marie.Kelly@archlc.com