Just in time for Christmas, Platform for Life heard the wonderful news that we were to be awarded a major grant by the Westminster Foundation. This not only secures our existing work but opens up opportunities for further expansion of our counselling/play therapy service.
This important funding helps Platform for Life continue our work in Lache and Blacon, providing free of charge and locally accessible counselling and play therapy sessions to families (parents, children and young people) living in poverty and struggling with poor mental health. Our focus is on strengthening family relationships and creating more stable and nurturing environments for children. We want to stop the cycle of poor mental health being passed down from one generation to the next and through earlier intervention, to prevent poor mental health becoming a life-long disability.
The prevalence of mental ill health maps closely to areas of deprivation and The National Child Development Study suggests children from the lowest income families are 4x more likely to experience psychological problems than children from the richest families. It becomes a vicious cycle as poverty increases the risk of mental health problems and poor mental health leads to employment difficulties and a lower quality of life. It’s estimated that 50% of problems are established by the age of 14, rising to 75% by the age of 21 (Mental Health Taskforce 2016).
“We want to thank the Westminster Foundation for this game changing grant and the faith and confidence they have shown in Platform for Life. Although poor mental health can affect anyone, socio- economic disadvantages place people at greater risk of developing such issues and can make it more difficult for them to access the right level of support and healing. Platform for Life exists to help families in this situation- to support them as early and as quickly as possible and to bring them back to good mental health rather than it becoming a life long disability. The Westminster Foundation shares our commitment to early intervention and together we hope to make a real difference in the communities we work in over the grant’s 5 year term” Ceri George, Platform for Life CEO.
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