The Links Group and Cats Protection Lifeline were in Belfast yesterday, talking to members of the Department for Communities and the associated arms’ length bodies at their September safeguarding forum. Links Group’s Strategic Delivery Lead, Andrea, and Lifeline’s Co-ordinator, Lauren Suitor, gave a joint presentation on Protecting Animals, Protecting People.
The Department for Communities is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The Department works with three agencies and public bodies: the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Sport NI.
With a wide range of responsibilities including housing, sport, museums and libraries, benefits and pensions, languages, support for children, languages, regeneration, arts and culture, voluntary and community, social inclusion and more, the Department works alongside a number of arms’ length bodies.
As many of these groups were present yesterday, Andrea and Lauren demonstrated how animals play an important role in the lives of people in communities in Northern Ireland, and why it’s important that these various arms’ length bodies are aware of ‘the link’ and how it might affect those using their services. Hogarth’s engravings, The Four Stages of Cruelty even got a mention, illustrating how people have been aware of ‘the link’ in society for a long time.
Andrea talked about ‘the link’, with Northern Ireland-specific examples and context, understanding the importance of the human-animal bond, homelessness and pets, and our free training courses and resources created for those living and working in NI. Lauren went on to outline the nature of the specialist domestic abuse animal fostering services, and how NI is the only devolved region without such a service.
We were delighted to have the opportunity to raise awareness of how ‘the link’ can impact all aspects of our community, even unexpectedly, and of our free training and resources. A key message delivered and well-received was; by working together, we can begin to improve outcomes for all victim-survivors of domestic abuse in NI, both people and animals.
Thank you to the Equality Unit Team for inviting us and making us feel so welcome yesterday.
