A gaming club in the heart of West Belfast has been helping refugees new to Northern Ireland and is looking out for the mental health of its members.
Battle Inc Gaming started back in December 2021, taking up residence in the Twin Spires Complex two months ago and since then, has held a social club for refugees every Wednesday.
"We give them the space to just meet, socialise with each other without the need to translate into English for any of us lot," co-founder Viv Keenan told Belfast Live.
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"It's just a chance to meet other people in the same boat and to socialise and there's also an international board games club on Monday.
"It's a comfortable, welcoming environment and they feel really safe with us.
"It's a great way of learning English too, especially if you're new to the area."
There are sessions every day at the club, which operates across five rooms at the Twin Spires.
"We have a room for more smaller, causal games, just to relax in," said Viv.
"We have a room for board games, one for war games, a digital gaming room and then a room for crafting and painting - we cater to literally every aspect of gaming."
Viv told Belfast Live the space is obviously geared towards gaming, but she has seen much more important benefits come out of the club.
"We've had people who have come to us and have not said one word to anyone in the first few weeks with us and now they've got so much confidence," she added.
"We've had parents saying how much their kids have grown socially through gaming, it's the best thing that's ever happened to them.
"They've said they had no idea it could have such a big impact on them and it just raises the tide of the whole community.
"You get people who aren't massively social being social."
And Viv is also keen to stress that once the doors open, they're open to everybody, with the club wanting as broad a demographic as possible.
She said those that attend are more than happy to show newer members the ropes in terms of the board and other games on offer.
"We have a great community, very varied and we have people coming in who may have been pushed out in the past," she said.
"I know it was a bit of a boys playground 10 years ago and women were essentially pushed out but now it's very different and we don't exclude anyone.
"The boys don't really have a chance to take over with me running the place!".
However, Viv has made sure that broader social benefit is at the heart of the club, with collection efforts made to help those suffering in Ukraine at the start of the year.
She and co-founder Pete Somerville have also introduced sessions that are more than just the core activity itself.
"There are lots of other aspects as well - the painting club I essentially stole the idea for that from the Men's Shed," she said.
"It's a really good way of the guys getting to sit around the table and do a bit of painting but also chat and that's really good for your mental health.
"It's a very niche type of art, painting miniatures, so it's a good way of sharing experience as well.
"Even though our venue is very big, it just feels like a big clubhouse."
The club has a steady stream of people coming in and the hope is that it can prove to be a social hub for many years to come.
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