Trauma centre helping survivors of the Troubles

Trauma centre helping survivors of the Troubles

18 June 2025

THE largest cross-community support group for victims and survivors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is encouraging those in the South Down area to use its newest centre in Killough. 

WAVE By the Sea, in Castle Street, provides a safe and welcoming environment where people can come for a range of therapies. 

These include counselling, physical therapy, psychotherapy, outreach, health and wellbeing, peer support, creative courses and the opportunity for respite in beautiful self-catering accommodation options.

Formerly the Kinder House, the centre will be running workshops focusing on mindfulness, music therapy and horticulture. 

The first WAVE Centre opened in 1993 in Belfast, and this was followed by centres in Armagh, Omagh, Ballymoney and Derry throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The Killough centre is the newest addition, opening in 2022.

The CEO of WAVE Trauma Centre, Sandra Peake, said the philosophy and ethos of the organisation was one of “inclusiveness”.

“We offer care and support to anyone bereaved, injured or traumatised through the civil unrest in Northern Ireland, irrespective of religious, cultural or political belief,” she said.

“WAVE promotes a respect for life and an understanding of difference that is seen as enhancing rather than threatening.

Sandra said the Killough centre is “an amazing resource with much-needed services”.

“People who lived in the city and were impacted during the Troubles feel a sense of freedom in Killough.

“There’s a sense of privacy and dignity, it’s very welcoming.”

Peter Heathwood joined the WAVE Board in 2016, and was instrumental in setting up the centre in Killough, where he has lived since 1990.

“My mother’s family were from Killough, so I grew up knowing all the locals,” Peter said.

“A few years ago I noticed the Kinder House was up for sale and informed Sandra.” 

Peter, who is paraplegic, has spent the past nine years working with the WAVE Injured Group to advance a pension for seriously injured people. 

In September 1979, when he was just 27, he was shot at his home in North Belfast in a case of mistaken identity. 

His father died at the scene of a heart attack when he thought Peter was dead. 

Speaking about the WAVE Injured Group, Peter said: “There are 26 of us, all injured through no fault of our own. It took 13 years of constant campaigning to get the pension over the line.”

Working with the group has helped Peter deal with tragedy in his life. 

“It has helped me to feel less alone, realising that I’m not the only one who has had this experience,” he said.

“We are all from different backgrounds and politics doesn’t come up – I have close friends across the divide.”

Killough’s WAVE By The Sea has been a hub of activity since opening three years ago. 

“There are around 200 clients in the South Down area – everyone who uses it loves it and sings its praises,” Peter added.

Services at WAVE By the Sea are provided on a cross-community, fully inclusive basis with staff on site from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm to offer support, advice and information.

Further information is available on the WAVE Trauma Centre Facebook page.