While for many the floods of March 2021 seem a long time ago to those who experienced the devastation first hand it may take them years to recover.

The Wellness ‘Returning to joy’ workshop held at Francis Retreat on Tuesday 26 April was the second in a series of three to be held, to help those directly affected by the floods.  The aim of the day-long workshop was to  engage people in a positive, joyful wellbeing experience to help them rediscover their resilience.

Participants were encouraged to leave their concerns on the Worry Tree at the beginning of the day, they were then led through a series of engaging, fun activities by RSS Support Worker, Kerry Meehan.  Each participant was given a gift bag containing wellbeing products purchased from local businesses by GIVIT a national not for profit organisation.

Here are some of the comments from participants, who agreed unanimously that the day was an outstanding success:

“Human kindness is all around and spreading”

“The mental and social benefits are amazing! Our Group had a wonderful joyful day. Thank you, St Agnes, to return to the Francis Retreat was amazing. My life changed when I stayed here after the flood.”

“Such a beautiful workshop, very uplifting and full of joy and peace”