WAVE Trauma Centre

As was announced last week, the backdating deadline for applying for the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme (aka Injured Pension) has been lifted to August 2026. If you have yet to apply please do so. There will be support available for you from one of our dedicated welfare advisors. The welfare team have produced a helpful information video to explain the ins and outs of this scheme. Contact your local centre for help. Details below

The UK Government remains committed to addressing legacy issues and on delivering on the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement. Secretary of State @hilarybennmp reflects on his engagement with Irish ministers in Dublin.

Jimmy Nesbitt has walked with and supported those bereaved and injured as a result of the Troubles with compassion, humility and with the ultimate integrity for over two decades. We can never, ever thank him enough. His support for the families of those disappeared has been phenomenal. All the families want is to give their loved ones a Christian burial. Anyone with information on any of the four outstanding ICLVR Disappeared cases —Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire— should contact the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) All information is treated in the strictest confidence. The ICLVR can be contacted by telephone: +353 1 602 8655 E-mail information to: Secretary@iclvr.ie By post to: ICLVR PO Box 10827 CrimeStoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 and the untraceable anonymous online form is at crimestoppers-uk.org. Anyone with information about Lisa Dorrian should call the detectives working on the case on 101 or they can provide information without leaving their name or giving their details through the independent charity Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.

“I beg people, if they’ve got anything, have a look into your conscience and contact us.” Actor James Nesbitt’s emotional plea on behalf of the families of The Disappeared. #LateLate

'Lynn Murray was a really strong woman with a real zeal for life' - Funeral hears she left behind a 'legacy of love and commitment' trib.al/u9dgVbj

Our thanks to Cormac Devlin TD for his invitation on behalf of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to our CEO Dr Sandra Peake & Dennis Godfrey from our Management Board who presented at the evidence session today in the House of Oirteachtas in Dublin. It was constructive engagement that focused across a number of areas related to victims and survivors issues. We look forward to continued engagement with the Committee.

We held our first 4X5 storytelling event of 2026 with a very special audience of our medical students. Four storytellers speaking for five mins each on the subject of medicine. We heard four very different stories, a mixture of oral testimony, creative writing, and poetry. Suffice to say our four speakers, Terry, Roisin, Nuala and Henry brought the house down. Great start to the storytelling season, roll on the next one on the theme of the *Jamuary Blues* on Tues 27th January 11am-2pm. Let us know if you have a story you would like to share. #2026yearofgrowth #WAVEfamily

Two of our pioneering Citizen Educators broke new ground today in medical education taking 4th year medical students through an intense, emotional, personal and real piece of forum theatre looking at the 'HOW' in how doctors do trauma informed care. Thanks to Queens University Belfast School of Medicine and Dentistry, for trusting us with this very exciting piece of deeply experiential work. Hats off to Phyllis who nailed it and Kieran as her understudy. #2026Yearofgrowth #expertsbyexperience #traumainformed #traumaeducated

We thought it was too good an opportunity to miss having a 4X5 storytelling event when our student doctors are with us, about none other than the subject of *MEDICINE*. Have you a funny story or a heart warming story about Medicine that you would be willing to share with us this Thursday in WAVE Belfast from 11am-1pm? Or would you prefer to just sit and listen to others sharing their stories? If so, just ring reception and let us know and we will count you in for a light lunch. See you there. #2026Yearofgrowth

Hello January!! And that means one thing, we welcome a new set of Medical Students ftom Queens University Belfast, School of Medicine & Denistry, on placement to WAVE @QUBMedEd This month they will be analysing health data in the context of trauma, interviewing clients, developing psychoeducation sheets and making oral presentations on their findings. We are so excited to chart their progress and see where this year takes us. #Yearofgrowth2026 Or is it #2026yearofgrowth #traumainformed #traumaeducated

Entering 2026, we are hopeful that Lisa will be found and justice is coming. Thank you to everyone who supports us especially those who contacted me with significant info this year. Thank you also to Lisa’s police team who really are working so hard.combined hope is powerful! Xx

A huge thank you to our inspirational Citizen Education team who have worked with ‘1890’ individuals during 2025. A big thank you to Grainne McKenna for all her work with the team. They are a mighty group.

This Christmas time our thanks to Bishop Alan McGuckian for remembering those disappeared in his Christmas messages shared across the Down and Connor Diocese. The hope and prayer that information will come that will lead to the recovery of those disappeared is the families fervent wish. In early December Dympna Kerr lit the candle of light at the window as a sign of hope, a silent prayer for the return of her brother Columba and all of the disappeared.

Wishing everyone some quiet, downtime and some rest over the next few days. Rest and recovery are essential to health and well being. So our wish today is to take some time to yourself. Here is a wee snippet of very relaxing harp music to set the tone. Watch this space for more harps to come in 2026. #WAVEfamily #yearofgratitude2025

@GerrySkelton1 Same to you. With best wishes for 2026.

@WAVETrauma Festive and New Year greetings, all🤠

On this Christmas Day from all at WAVE we want to wish you a peaceful and restful day. The weather is dry and hopefully you can get outside even for a brief period. We will be back in the New Year with some new programmes and initiatives. It promises to be good. So rest up as there will be lots to consider in the new year. We are thinking about you and we are here for you.

WAVE Belfast was rocking to the sound of music at an absolute fabulous Christmas dinner on Wednesday night for the men’s and women’s group !! There was such a buzz in the building. Hats off to The Pickler & to Justin and Michael for all their work in preparing dinner for 40 hungry folks. Everyone loved it. Thank you also to Stephen for the music and to Robyn in Asda who leads their community support for all her help in making the dinner such a success. A big thank you to Jackie too for the photographs. This has been such a busy month across all of the centres. A big thank you to the staff team for all their work and support. We know that for many Christmas can be challenging. Being together, having lovely food and good company can be very reassuring. The men’s and women’s group are such a supportive network in addition to other programmes that are running and in January we will be back up and running again!! So watch this space there will be lots of new programmes on offer.

A big shout out to the WAVE Belfast Men’s Group who have supported three charities close to their hearts this Christmas time. Today they were out presenting the cheques to the Air Ambulance, NI’s Children’s Hospice and Marie Curie. All significant as they helped a family member in their time of need. Their work is much appreciated. The men have journeyed together throughout the year, from one end of NI to the other. Such kind and generous hearts. It’s a quick rest and they will be back in the new year ready to start again!! A big thank you to all the group.

Such a powerful interview with Dympna Kerr, Columba McVeigh’s sister. ‘For god sake do the right thing. I will never give up hope Columba had his dignity stripped away from him that night or day in that bog. Let us restore his dignity and put him in the grave beside our mum and dad'. itv.com/news/utv/2025-…

In the New Year we will have lots of new programmes across a whole range of areas. In WAVE Belfast we wanted to let you know about this amazing opportunity funded through the Arts Council. We are adding the harp to our musical programmes. Did you know that - The harp's gentle and resonant tones can have a direct impact on the body's nervous system, which is often dysregulated after trauma. Harp music has been shown in clinical studies to lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, and reduce anxiety and muscle tension. This creates a state of deep relaxation. The physical vibrations of the harp strings can create sympathetic resonance within the listener's body, helping to balance energy and promote a sense of harmony and peace. And finally, studies have found that live harp music can significantly decrease an individual’s perception of pain, which may be connected to the production of endorphins and engagement with the music rather than solely relaxation. So, all that said we have a small number of places on this new group in January for those who are registered in WAVE for services and have not accessed any of our musical groups before. Please contact admin if interested on 02890779922 or on adminhq@wavetrauma.org Numbers are limited and engagement is restricted to those who have engagement with our services. Happy playing. It will be amazing.

A welcome statement of support from the Secretary of State (SoS) @hilarybennmp The SoS’s visit to Bragan was important as it is impossible to fully articulate the bleak and barren conditions the search team are working in to recover those who have been disappeared. The McVeigh family and wider Families of the Disappeared group appreciated so much his commitment. He has been the only SoS to make a visit in support of the family concerned and to meet the search team at one of the search sites. We urge anyone who can help with information regarding the disappeared to do so through-   ICLVR can be contacted by telephone: +353 1 602 8655   E-mail information to: Secretary@iclvr.ie   By post to: ICLVR PO Box 10827   CrimeStoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 and the untraceable anonymous online form is at crimestoppers-uk.org. All information is treated in the strictest confidence.