The Mac Club

The Mac Club provides day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities aged 18 - 30, within their local community and a monthly nightclub.

THE MAC CLUB
WHO ARE WE?
MAC stands for Making Adult Choices. Young Adults with learning difficulties have few opportunities to get together in social settings to meet with friends, old & new. The MAC Club aims to provide these opportunities as an exciting new venture for young people aged 18-30 who have a learning disability. Started by Caroline McCarthy and Gavin McCahey, both teachers at Glenveagh School with 30 years teaching experience between us, we have a passion for developing the choices young people with learning disabilities have in the years after they leave school.
After realising that there were so few opportunities for young people to meet and socialise in a relaxed club setting during the day and the evening, just like their peers, and seeing how much they enjoyed it when they did, we decided the only way was to organise one ourselves. So The MAC Club was born. With help from Invest NI we have a business plan but what we really need is feedback from young people and carers about what they would like, so we needed to pilot the scheme.
We started with a club night in January 2016 at the Devenish
WHAT HAVE WE GOT PLANNED?
We plan to establish a monthly nightclub, on a Friday night, which creates a safe environment for young people to enjoy themselves. In the words of one of our MACkers ‘it’s like a nightclub. You just go and chat to your friends, dance and have some fun’. Our first event was a great success and we immediately knew that we wanted to organise another night, however, a new venue would need to be found due to current access limitations. The next event The MAC Club has planned is a Valentines Disco booked for 12th February at The Kings Head, Lisburn Road, Belfast.
HOW DO WE SELECT OUR VENUES?
We recognise how important it is to select a venue that has access for all and a positive attitude to the learning disability community. The Devenish has supported school formals and our first disco but the room we could access was just too big. Our next event will be at The Kings Head which is easily accessible by train, bus & car. There is a car park and wheelchair access to our event – we recognise how important this may be for some of you.
WE ALSO REALISE HOW IMPORTANT OTHER ASPECTS MAY BE
• Ourselves and our volunteers all have police checks and experience working with vulnerable adults.
• For some of our MACkers, carers may prefer to stay and support them, we hope to make the night just as enjoyable for you, not just an opportunity to meet other carers but an opportunity to see a group of young adults enjoy themselves and develop their social opportunities.
• Our event is covered by the insurance of the venue, when we expand to day opportunities we will be required to insure independently.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
The MAC Club hopes to continue to develop in the future, looking to start day opportunities for our MACkers.
Our Facebook site will show photos of events, up and coming plans, comments and reviews for new visitors. You will be able to message us directly with any questions, https://www. facebook.com/themacclub /.

Please get in contact if you have any questions or suggestions via facebook or email themacclub@hotmail.com