STEWARTSTOWN Road based Kids Together are set to benefit from a grant of just under £300,000 from the Department of Health as part of £8.7million in support grants for organisations providing mental health services.
The cross-community organisation was formed in 2005 by a group of parents and began delivering services to 160 children in 2009 from a room in a site on Corrib Avenue. Today, the group operate from four sites across West Belfast including their main building on the Stewartstown Road, Hannahstown and Work West.
Pamela Hughes from the organisation explained how the funding will help their work
“I had written a programme on group mentoring. We have a family support team and a play therapist and another girl who is in the process of getting her counselling degree. We pulled it all together to deliver this programme," she said.
“The group mentoring programme is very bespoke and is for children with ASD who are most likely without a learning difficulty. They tend to be expelled, suspended or on a restricted timetable in school because of the environment that they are in.”
Pamela added that this programme is to try and get those children reengaged after the pandemic.
“For most of these children, it is hard to get them motivated and they don’t want to do anything anyway. They don’t want to engage socially because it is difficult for them,” she continued.
“The programme is designed to give them the skills that they need through life. We also back that up with three family visits so that the skills they have learnt through the programme can be implemented at home.
“For these children anxiety will be a big issue. For some of those children we have Lego therapy where our play therapist uses Lego to help them with their social skills such as turn taking, waiting your turn and not winning.
“The play therapist will also do one-to-one with children who don’t fit into the group setting or play therapy.”
Kids Together will receive £296,446 from the grant which is part of a £24m package of funding made available in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to support carers, cancer charities and mental health organisations.
Welcoming the initial grant payments, Health Minister Robin Swann said: “Mental ill-health is a huge challenge for our society. Too many people struggle with being mentally unwell and too many people find it difficult to find the help and support they need when they need it.
“It’s undeniable that the pandemic, and the necessary restrictions, have had a negative impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing. When I launched the Mental Health Support Fund earlier this year my aim was to equip and enable our local charity sector to continue to provide important and vital mental health services in our communities.
“These grants are only the first allocation from the £10m fund and, alongside the 10 year Mental Health Strategy published at the end of June, will work to ensure that anyone who needs help receives the help they need.”
The fund is being administered and managed by the Community Foundation NI on behalf of the Department and aims to provide grant funding to organisations with charitable status that can deliver outcomes to improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of the population.
West Belfast MLA and Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health, Órlaithí Flynn has welcomed the allocation of the funding.
"The support provided to community groups and organisations through the mental health support fund has the potential to make a real difference to lives and communities," she said.
“The negative impact of Covid-19 continues to be felt and experienced by so many people. I am deeply concerned that many people are struggling to access mental health services and struggling with mental ill-health when support is out there.
“I believe this additional funding will provide a welcome boost to many communities to provide much-needed counselling, peer support and trauma support services.
“Long-term investment is needed in supporting sustainable community services and statutory services, especially in expanding access to vital services."
A call for small grant (from £5,000 to £30,000) and medium grant (from £30,000 to £100,000) applications opened on 20 September 2021. Further information can be found on the Community Foundation NI website.
