Examination of Witnesses (Questions 217-219)
MRS JANET
HUNTER
21 FEBRUARY 2005
Q217 Chairman: You know why we are here.
We are conducting the first part of an inquiry into reconciliation,
dealing with the past, and we are looking at victims and all that
surrounds them and the groups, which is all we will have time
to do if there is to be a general election in May. I hope our
successor committee, whoever they are, will take it up when we
all come back. Thank you very much for coming. Perhaps you could
start by describing the main objectives of FACT and particularly
your work with victims.
Mrs Hunter: The main objective
of FACT is to help people in Northern Ireland who have been traumatised
by the Troubles to move a step further in the healing process.
Chairman: Your work with victims.
Mrs Hunter: I have brought another
one of our printouts on how we work with victims and what we do
and say to support them. On the back of this document is a three-step
approach on how we work with victims. Say a family came along
to us. We would take them quietly to a room on their own and sit
down and have a chat with them and find out how they became a
victim, what has happened to them since, what they hope for in
the future, how they feel and what they want from us. In that
conversation you usually get a good gist of their needs and what
we can do for them. All of them are offered counselling first
and foremost. Some take it up, some do not. The next step is to
offer them alternative therapies because our format is to try
and get them to relax and to build their confidence and trust
in us as a team. Once that trust and confidence are built up then
they open up more. In the initial conversation you will find that
they hide a lot; they will only tell you what they want you to
know but, as time moves on, a lot more comes out and a lot more
confidence is built up. After they have built up their confidence,
got to trust us and be with us, we will give them some training
and education if they require it. Quite a lot of our work is on
social integration, taking the group to meet other groups, taking
the group out for the day, working with individuals, taking them
out to do their shopping or if they need to go and see the doctor,
so that would be social interaction.
Q218 Chairman: How many are there of
you in the team?
Mrs Hunter: Five.
Q219 Chairman: How many victims or families—are
they mostly individuals or families?
Mrs Hunter: We would count them
as families. We try not to count people as individuals because
we like to get the family back together again.
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