New mental health wellbeing unit

iCARP has received £10,000 from Catalyst towards setting up a new wellbeing unit to provide counselling support for soldiers suffering from PTSD, as well as other people with mental health conditions.

The facility will include a therapy room for counselling sessions. Mark Wheeler, the CEO of the organisation, said that without Catalyst’s support, they would not have had the confidence to gain more support from other organisations.

“This includes financial backing from the Environment agency to further develop the project. We’ve also received over £75,000 in donations since Catalyst’s grant, which is fantastic. Additionally, we have further bids in with the Lottery and the University of Essex to cover the long-term running costs of the project.

This project involves offering group outdoor activities for people struggling with their mental wellbeing. In the past, the work that we do, which includes providing counselling support after the veterans have bonded over a few hours of fishing, has been credited for saving some people’s lives.

Two of the people we supported said they were feeling alone and isolated and made plans to end their lives. However, the project helped them through this difficult time and they are now very much part of the programme. They are also thriving in their volunteer roles for the organisation.

“All of us at iCARP would like to give a huge thank you to Catalyst for the amazing support. As an academic study from the University of Essex, the local support from Catalyst has felt both humbling but also very effective.”