This autumn, national children’s arts and health charity Helium Arts, will bring their award winning arts programme for children living with a lifelong physical health condition to the Roscommon Community Sports Park Building in Lisnamult.
Helium Arts’ Roscommon location builds on the success of hubs in Cork, Limerick, and Galway which have served over 2,000 children living with lifelong physical health conditions since 2019, supporting their wellbeing, creativity, and ability to cope with their conditions. Roscommon will be the latest outpost of the organisation’s West Hub serving Galway City, Galway County, Mayo and now Roscommon.
Speaking about the new venue, Helene Hugel, Founder and CEO of Helium Arts said: “We are thrilled to be extending the reach of our arts programmes to more young people and families in Ireland by launching a new venue in Roscommon.
“In Ireland, there are 160,000 children and teenagers living every day with the long-term effects of illness. Families and children in the Roscommon area can now attend a camp close to their own home, eliminating the stress of traveling long distances to avail of our services”.
Led by professional artist, Ciara Keegan, the workshops are a space for children to play, learn, and explore their creativity through hands-on activities.
The first programme in Roscommon will be a free art camp, during mid-term break, that will take place over three days from Tuesday, November 1st to Thursday, November 3rd in the Roscommon Community Sports Park Building, Lisnamult. There will be a morning workshop for children aged 6-8 years and an afternoon workshop for older children aged 9-12 years.
Speaking about the upcoming camps, Roscommon Arts Officer Rhona McGrath said: “I greatly admire the ethos and work of Helium Arts and the impact that their programmes have on children in Ireland living with a lifelong physical health condition. I am delighted to hear that Helium Arts are coming to Roscommon so that more children in the locality can access their programmes on their doorstep”.
All Helium Arts Creative Health programming for children is free of charge and wheelchair-accessible. Medical support will be provided by a professional medic and volunteers are present to provide extra one-to-one support so that workshops can be safe and inclusive environments for children to have fun and make friends.
To find out more about the programme, or to refer a child, please contact Helium Arts’ Family Liaison on hello@helium.ie or 083-0103240.
Helium Arts are also currently recruiting volunteers in the Roscommon area to assist lead artist Ciara with the workshops and provide one-to-one support to children who may have additional needs. To apply, visit helium.ie/volunteer or email volunteer@helium.ie.
