Mid Ulster Victims Empowerment

Mid Ulster Victims Empowerment (MUVE) began in 2012 — not in an office or with a launch event, but quietly, around a kitchen table in a home in Cookstown. A small group of people, bound by pain, compassion, and a fierce sense of purpose, came together with one goal: to help innocent victims of the Troubles who felt forgotten, unheard, and alone.

Some were victims themselves. Others simply couldn’t ignore the need they saw around them. Together, they formed MUVE — not with grants or outside backing, but from their own pockets, driven by nothing more than the belief that something had to be done.

At first, funders weren’t interested. But that didn’t stop them. Because change was happening — lives were being transformed, and word was spreading. Within a year, the impact could no longer be denied. Support followed, just in time, allowing MUVE to move from a living room to a welcoming centre in Cookstown with offices, buildings, and grounds where people could come, park easily, and feel safe.

Today, MUVE has grown — not just in size, but in heart. We’ve seen hopelessness turn into strength. We’ve watched strangers become friends. Brokenness gives way to healing. Despair replaced by dignity.

We launched out because we saw a need. What began as a small act of compassion has become a community, a lifeline, and a voice for many who had been silenced for too long.

The story we write is not about us — it’s about every individual who has walked through our doors and found hope again. And it’s for every person we’ve yet to meet.