A Derbyshire charity is to continue offering counselling sessions to young people thanks to funding from the National Lottery.
Callum’s Voice has, this week, received a £19,980 funding grant from the National Lottery Community Fund for the cause to be able to continue providing funded counselling and psychotherapy sessions for youngsters.
Callum’s Voice, which is situated within Alfreton House, also hosts regular crafts sessions for young people to enjoy.
Founded in memory of Callum who was tragically lost to suicide at just at 18 in April 2019, Callum’s Voice was originally a Community Interest Company (CIC) and then became a fully registered charity in February 2020.
A spokesman for Callum’s Voice said this week: “We are so proud to share the news that we have been successful in securing £19,980 from the National Lottery Community Fund for our funded counselling project.
“Pictured is Laura, Callum’s mum and founder of our charity ‘Callum’s Voice’ proudly holding our National Lottery cheque.
“This week is Children’ s Mental Health Week and this year’s theme is ‘My Voice Matters.”
They continued: “Callum’s Voice aims to: “empower young people so that their voices are heard” through providing funded counselling and psychotherapy sessions.
“We are so grateful to be able to continue providing funded counselling sessions to those who might not otherwise get access to the support they need.
“Our sincere thanks to everyone out there who supports causes such as ourselves by playing the National Lottery.”
The National Lottery grant is set to fund counselling sessions over the next two years for around 37 children for up to a maximum of 12 sessions.
The Callum’s Voice spokesman added: “We intend to manage this by opening up to referrals on a quarterly basis and will, unfortunately, have to limit the amount that we can accept each quarter.
“We will monitor the position closely, and rest assured, will accept as many referrals as we can.
“We hope that you can appreciate the need for us to place these limits as demand for the service is high.
“Following our Facebook post about this funding earlier this week, we have already received the maximum number that we can take for this quarter.
“With regret, we have therefore closed the service to any new referrals until early May 2024. Sadly, this shows just how many children and young people there are needing support.
“The fact remains, though, that thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and everyone who plays National Lottery over the next few weeks the future should feel brighter for a few of them.”

To find out more about Callum’s Voice, go to here

To read more Spirit of Alfreton articles about Callum’s Voice, go to here

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