PLATFORM FOR LIFE 

Demand for our counselling grows each year. We aim to increase capacity so every low-income person reaching out to us for help with mental health issues can be seen quickly, locally and for free.

A year-long project that will deliver 1-2-1 therapeutic support (counselling, art and play therapy) to 15 low-income women and children who have suffered domestic abuse to improve their mental ....more

A year-long project that will deliver 1-2-1 therapeutic support (counselling, art and play therapy) to 15 low-income women and children who have suffered domestic abuse to improve their mental health, self-confidence and increase their social integration. Also to provide a 6-week pilot wellbeing course for 12 women who are engaging with 1-2-1 therapeutic support.

3 year grant for the salary of Client Support Worker and project costs

7% of running costs over 3-years to provide counselling to children, young people and parents struggling with mental health issues in Blacon and Lache, Cheshire.

We'd like to grow the number of counselling slots we offer to low income families in the Chester area to 120 per week. This ensures we can meet the increase in demand and decrease wait times.

Self-Referral Option

Grant to Platform for Life

Platform for Life currently offers counselling and play therapy to low income families in Blacon and Lache who are struggling with poor mental health. This project is about increasing our counselling ....more

Platform for Life currently offers counselling and play therapy to low income families in Blacon and Lache who are struggling with poor mental health. This project is about increasing our counselling capacity to meet demand in these 2 communities and expanding our service into Kingsway, an area of significant need in Chester that often gets overlooked. In the second part of the year, depending on overall levels of demand in these 3 communities and therefore our waiting list, we may also look to extend our service into 1 specific area of Ellesmere Port with significant needs such as Westminster or Wolverham. This grant will cover the costs of us providing 5 counselling sessions per week for 12 months. This will enable vulnerable families to access counselling for poor mental health in one or more family members, helping them process unresolved long-term traumas and shorter term challenges resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. Our aim is to bring about real healing and a return to better mental health and with it the chance for clients (and their families) to enjoy an improved quality of life.

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public services.2) To ensure essential services are provided to vulnerable people, both in the short and long term through increased community support through the work of charitable organisations."

Platform for Life offers counselling and play therapy to low income families in Blacon and Lache (and additionally Kingsway- picked up during this crisis), who are struggling with poor mental health. ....more

Platform for Life offers counselling and play therapy to low income families in Blacon and Lache (and additionally Kingsway- picked up during this crisis), who are struggling with poor mental health. This project will increase our counselling capacity to ensure we can meet the anticipated growth in demand for mental health care from families in these 3 communities. This grant will fund 3 additional sessional slots per week for six months (69 sessions). This project will enable vulnerable families to access counselling for poor mental health in one or more family members, helping them process unresolved long-term traumas and shorter term challenges resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. Our aim is to bring about real healing and a return to better mental health and with it the chance to enjoy an improved quality of life.

NET, Comic Relief and Children in Need will use this funding to provide: increased support to vulnerable people and hidden groups, thus reducing the burden on public services; reach local grassroots ....more

NET, Comic Relief and Children in Need will use this funding to provide: increased support to vulnerable people and hidden groups, thus reducing the burden on public services; reach local grassroots and small organisations who can provide an on-the-ground community response to the crisis; and, support local charitable organisations to mobilise volunteers to enable better targeted support in communities through empowered local groups.

The project will provide free to client, locally delivered, easy to access counselling/play therapy to families- parents, children and young people struggling with poverty and poor mental health in ....more

The project will provide free to client, locally delivered, easy to access counselling/play therapy to families- parents, children and young people struggling with poverty and poor mental health in two areas of Chester- Lache and Blacon. Both areas fall within the bottom 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation and families struggle to access state services. The focus is on strengthening family relationships and creating more stable and nurturing environments for children. Platform for Life aims to break the cycle of poor mental health being passed down from one generation to the next.

Platform for Life provides specialist counselling and associated support to children, young people and parents / carers in disadvantaged communities who are struggling with multiple challenges, and ....more

Platform for Life provides specialist counselling and associated support to children, young people and parents / carers in disadvantaged communities who are struggling with multiple challenges, and where mental health issues are compromising the provision of a healthy and nurturing home environment for the children. The proposed collaborative pilot project is focussed on helping vulnerable pregnant women and aims to develop a new approach to providing a benign and nurturing environment for the critical first 1000 days of life (conception to the second birthday), thereby radically improving life chances for those children. The grant funding will cover the costs of employing a specialist counsellor for one year, focussed on addressing the mental health issues of the mother (invariably related to their own childhood trauma and deprivation), focussed initially on pregnancy, and subsequently helping the mother bond with and properly nuture the child in their early years. The main outcome of the project will be that children will be able to grow up to lead normal lives with greatly lowered risk of a huge range of difficulties including mental health problems (e.g. ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, behavioural problems, learning disorders) physical health problems (e.g. foetal alcohol syndrome, obesity, birth defects).

Platform for Life is requesting funding for consultancy support to diversify their income, develop a recruitment strategy, develop more holistic service and develop a strategic communications plan

The project will pay for 0.2 FTE (1 day per week) of counselling from a fully-qualified counsellor for one year, together with associated costs. The number of individuals (parents and children) ....more

The project will pay for 0.2 FTE (1 day per week) of counselling from a fully-qualified counsellor for one year, together with associated costs. The number of individuals (parents and children) directly helped by this contribution would be about 10, which would equate to around 5 families. Family members not directly helped with counselling would also be indirectly helped. There would also be positive ripple effect benefits in terms of classroom dynamics, the wider family and the community

Platform for Life provides specialist counselling and associated support to children, young people and parents / carers in disadvantaged communities who are struggling with multiple challenges, and ....more

Platform for Life provides specialist counselling and associated support to children, young people and parents / carers in disadvantaged communities who are struggling with multiple challenges, and where mental health issues are compromising the provision of a healthy and nurturing home environment for children. The project seeks to further establish "community-centred counselling" (and associated support activities) in the most deprived part of Lache, Chester and substantiate the advantages of this approach over current mental health provision. The grant funding will be used to pay the salary and associated costs of a 0.2FTE qualified counsellor for one year. The funding will directly help bring about 20 adults and children (in the funding year) to a good state of mental health; this will benefit about the same number (or more) of family members and also ripple out into the classroom and into the community. It will also enable some extra volunteer counselling input.

The project will offer tailored counselling sessions and individual support to adults and children experiencing social disadvantage, life crises and poor mental health.