A charity which offers low-cost counselling has been awarded three grants to enable it to continue supporting people across North Somerset during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wellspring, which is based in Nailsea, has been given £40,000 to help with the additional costs of providing affordable counselling for adults and free cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for young people.
The charity has continued to provide counselling and CBT services to people remotely, by phone and online during the lockdown, and it is expecting an increase in demand following an ease in restrictions.
More: Counselling charity given grant to help more young people.
A number of supporters donated phones to counsellors before the lockdown to enable the charity to keep helping people in need.
Wellspring director Sarah Rees said: “Wellspring is delighted to have been awarded three new grants to support the charity with the additional costs and challenges of providing affordable counselling for adults and donation-based counselling and CBT for young people locally during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These three new grants will help to ensure that Wellspring can continue its work and prepare for the expected increase in demand for mental health services as the lockdown eases.
“Fundraising efforts still continue as there is ongoing and increasing need for Wellspring’s services to support local people with the longer-term effects of the pandemic.”
Quartet Community Coronavirus Emergency Fund and the CAF Coronavirus Fund have given the charity £5,000 each, while Mind has awarded £30,000 to Wellspring.
The wellbeing practitioners are continuing to offer CBT remotely to students at four secondary schools. They are also offering a number of free services to anyone living or attending school in North Somerset.
These include one-to-one wellbeing support for children aged 11 to 18 who are struggling with their mental health.
Practitioners are also offering sessions to parents of children who are experiencing anxiety and mild difficulties with behaviour.
Parents will be allocated a practitioner who will support them.
To find out more about services offered by Wellspring, email krissie@wellspringcounselling.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here