Coleraine knitting club donate 50 trauma teddies to PSNI

by Q Radio News

Members of 'Nimble Needles' knitting club in Coleraine have donated over 50 'Trauma Teddies' to local PSNI officers. 

Based in Ballysally Youth and Community Centre, the group meets every week to create the teddies, designed to bring comfort to children in distress. 

Explaining the importance of 'trauma teddies', Sergeant Terry McKenna said:

"These items can make a huge difference to a child caught up in a traumatic situation.

"They provide consolation at a time of distress and offer an alternative way for officers to reassure young people who have been left frightened and upset.

"Research has shown that trauma teddies can soften the impact of a frightening situation which is important to the child's future wellbeing.

"Officers have already used them in a number of situations across the Causeway Coast and Glens and we have seen at first hand the positive impact they can make."

(The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Brenda Chivers pictured with Roberta Tosh, Norma Mc Clure and Betty Blair from Nimble Needles Knitting Group, Chief Inspector Ian Magee and Lucille Wright, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.)

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Councillor Brenda Chivers said:

"I would like to thank all members of the Nimble Needles knitting group for their contribution to the 'Trauma Teddies' initiative.

"We cannot underestimate the difference which a small knitted bear can make when a child is caught up in a traumatic situation.

"They are among the most vulnerable members of our society and we have a duty to protect and comfort them in whatever way we can."

The donation from the Nimble Needle knitters follows on from a similar project organised by the Dry Arch Children's Centre in Dungiven earlier this year which saw local PSNI officers receive their first 'trauma teddy' donations.