A NEWTOWN-based mental health charity has received a massive grant from the Big Lottery Fund Wales.
The Ponthafren Association, which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing in Montgomeryshire, has been awarded £336,314, over a three year period, from the People and Places programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales.
The group says that the funding will significantly extend the current services for people with mental health issues in North Powys, including increasing the opening hours of the Association’s Outreach Centre in Welshpool and providing an out of hours drop-in counselling and crisis service in both Newtown and Welshpool.
Tim Halford, chairman of Ponthafren said: “This news is absolutely fantastic – the lottery award is testimony to the contribution that Ponthafren has made to the North Powys’ community over the years and is a real tribute to Ponthafren’s many volunteers and supporters and to those who guide and work for the organisation.
“It will enable us to provide a much requested increase in opening hours for the service in Welshpool, further develop the delivery of the one to one recovery support for individuals and also the expansion of services at the centre in Newtown, which will include further evening opening times for crisis/out of hours support and permanent counselling services in both centres.”
The award-winning organisation is based in Newtown, with an outreach centre in Welshpool and an outreach group in Llanidloes.
The association provides an essential service to support local people with mental health issues of any kind, such as depression and anxiety, and those affected by social isolation or exclusion.
They offer a wide range of courses/training from confidence building to IT skills and provide a very welcoming environment for people to drop in for a chat or to relax in their lovely gardens.
The People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects.
For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_people_places