MORE than £50,000 in grants has been issued by Basildon Council to support mental health services across the borough

In October the council launched a mental health fund, and the council has now selected and awarded grants to 12 organisations offering mental health services in the Basildon borough.

The one-off grants of up to £5,000 were available to voluntary and community sector organisations to support mental health projects, training and professional development, improving organisational infrastructure, or supporting staff salaries and volunteer expenses.

One of the grant recipients are the Craig Tyler Trust, who with the funding will launch a mobile mental health support unit - allowing the trust to be present in different areas across the borough and be available to support a wider range of residents.

Another organisation is Parents 4 Parents, who applied for funding to support Project Power - which aims to provide subject specialist SEN coaching workshops and will develop parents' knowledge and confidence to support their child and themselves.

Karen Pullen, Founder and Chair of the Craig Tyler Trust, said: "This grant has enabled us to help so many people who have been affected by Covid-19. Our residents have experienced grief, loneliness, extreme hardship among lots of other difficulties, and we've been inundated with calls for help.

"By The Craig Tyler Trust receiving this grant we have been able to give our help to hundreds of people and we have been will continue to do so with the amazing support of Basildon Council."

Iain McPherson, Group Chief Executive of Countryside Properties, added: "We're pleased to have contributed to Basildon Council's Mental Health Grant which supports community organisations across the borough deliver vital services for those who need it most.

"Our very own Communities Fund, which launched last year, aims to provide a financial lifeline to communities up and down the country. Mental health concerns are a core cause that the fund has been helping to address on a national level and it is great to see that our £20,000 donation has helped support so many mental health projects in the borough."

Leader of Basildon Council, Cllr Gavin Callaghan, added: "We launched this grant scheme to help our partners in mental health at a time when statistics showed that there could be a greater demand for mental health services over the winter.

"We are blessed with many organisations across the borough that do such fantastic work to support our residents' mental health, and I'm grateful that we've been able to give financial support to twelve such organisations.

"I'm thankful to our partners Public Health, Countryside Properties, and Mark Noble and partners in this project, who put our resident's mental health first by providing financial support to this great cause."

The projects the funding will be supporting are:

The Craig Tyler Trust - Mobile Mental Health Support Unit - The mobile support unit will allow the trust to be present in different areas across the Basildon Borough and be available to support a wider range of residents and create a peer support system in each area. It will also ensure sustainability of their services.

Sociability – The Repair Shop - To provide workshop where members can fix and make good items. This idea was developed from an already existing project 'Make Do and Mend' which proved to be successful, with high attendance.

The Listening Post – Covid-19 Response Counselling - to provide one to one counselling sessions to residents who have had their mental health impacted by Coronavirus. This project has the capacity to support 17 people and provide 12 counselling sessions.

Basildon Mind – Accelerate Confidential Children and Young People's Mental Health Counselling - Reduce the length and waiting time of the 'Youth Counselling' list by recruiting additional highly skilled counsellors to counsel around 36 additional youths between March 2021 and February 2022.

Royal Association for Deaf People - Basildon Deaf Wellbeing - Raise awareness of and increase access to mental health support within the Basildon community, to reduce social isolation and to support those whose mental health has been impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parents 4 Parents - Project Empower - Provide subject specialist SEN coaching workshops and will develop parents' knowledge and confidence to support their child and themselves. This will encompass dealing with difficult behaviour, ADHD/ASD, Sensory Processing, Understanding Anger and Anxiety and Youth Mental Health First Aid.

Home Start Essex - Supporting the Wellbeing of Basildon Parents - Run two online wellbeing groups for parents in the Basildon area struggling with mental health problems including depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Wellbeing groups are a therapeutic led programme addressing low self-esteem, confidence and mental health difficulties

St Luke's Hospice - Luke's Counselling and Support for Children and Young People - Contribute towards staff salaries for highly qualified counselling professionals. The Luke's team guide children and young people through their bereavement and provide a range of counselling and therapy techniques to support individuals.

InterAct – Building Better Mental Health & Resilience - Deliver workshops and training courses which focus on: promoting positive mental health & wellbeing and resilience, understanding & responding appropriately to the signs & symptoms of mental & emotional distress, in both adults and children & young people, and addressing emerging needs resulting from COVID-19 pandemic.

Motivated Minds - Counselling For All - Employ a part-time counsellor to enable them to support more people with complex needs. There is currently a waiting list of people that are in need of support.

Community Rainbow Genies – Reclaiming Mental Health - Support a 12 week online mental health counselling/coaching programme focusing on the inside & outside approach for adults who are currently experiencing or who have mental health issues, low self-esteem and socially isolated.