Participants from the F2 Centre in Rialto offered 450 home-created hearts to frontline workers in St James’s Hospital as a token of their appreciation for the work that frontline workers carry out on their behalf in a creative project called ‘Hearts for Heroes’.
Local people from Dublin 8 & 12 linked to the F2 Centre, Fatima Groups United Family Resource Centre, adjacent to St James’s Hospital, knitted, created, drew the hearts which were hung up in St James’s Hospital concourse, wards and offices of the staff.
Mary O’Kelly, Head of Service Primary Care, Community Healthcare Dublin South, Kildare & West Wicklow stated: “The adaptability of the Fatima Groups United Family Resource Centre to meet local needs has never been more important than during the current pandemic when meeting the health and wellbeing needs, counselling supports, information and advice and arts and civic awareness has continued in new and inspired ways.
The “Hearts for Heroes” is one such creative project that engaged participants with meaningful activities during lockdown and allowed them to publicly demonstrate their appreciation of the frontline healthcare workers in their local hospital.”
Ms Mary Day, CEO St James’s Hospital says: “The support of our local community including the Fatima Groups United has been so important to the staff and patients of St James’s Hospital over the last year. The Hearts for Hero’s is a wonderful initiative and the artwork has been admired all over the hospital. A big heartfelt thank you to the Fatima Groups United for thinking of us during these difficult times”
Roisin Ryder, Community Development Worker, Fatima Groups United commented: “It has been a great success for participant engagement during lockdown as people cannot attend the F2 centre in person for programmes. Some of these participants came in contact with the project through the Dublin 8 Social Prescribing Project which is a mechanism to link people with non-medical supports for health.”
As one participant wrote on her heart ‘No millions or billions can ever do justice to the amount of care and empathy you show towards your patients. Thank you for not just being a frontline worker but a true HERO’
The Hearts for Heroes project also cements the close relationship with St James’s Hospital which is on the doorstep of the F2 centre. Staff and patients alike are delighted.
Over 450 hearts were submitted to be hung in St James’s Hospital for the project. In addition, the Fatima Poetry Group wrote Haiku for Heroes (Haiku are 3 line poems).
