Annual Monitoring Report for Finding Hope Counselling 109650
Overview of the charity
Finding Hope Counselling is a small charity based in the area of Killinchy, Comber, Saintfield, Ballygowan. When the charity was established in 2023, it had 4 trustees but has recently changed to having 3 Trustees, chair, secretary and treasurer plus a director for the charity.
Trustees April 2024 – April 2025
Mrs Judith McLaughlin Chair Mrs Hazel Clarke Treasurer Mrs Anna Keenan [nee Johnson] Secretary Ms Katie Sparham-Brown
The Charity’s objects are to promote the mental health and well-being of children and their families in rural communities within a 20 mile radius of Kilmood, County Down (the ‘area of benefit’) through offering self-regulation capacity building opportunities for families and individual children by providing counselling, resources and other therapeutic support to enhance mental health and increase resilience, including but not limited to providing:
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a) a safe space and an accessible counselling service for children and young people in the area of benefit, to assist them to process difficult emotions and learn new ways of thinking and connecting, which in turn will help avoid serious mental health problems in later life;
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b) therapeutic work with children and young people;
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c) holistic support for families, including educational sessions, mental wellbeing sessions and a safe space to process experiences; and
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d) a mental health hub to offer training, information and advice about counselling and resources.
The work of the Charity Finding Hope Counselling has helped it become established in the local community and area of location. It has made a significant and supportive difference to both children and parents of those
who Katie, the therapist associated with FHC, has worked with. Each therapeutic set of sessions was evaluated by the children and the parent/carer.
Sources of funding
The charity funding originally came from a grant of £5000 that was given by the David Cross Foundation. Since then the charity has received donations from Killinchy Parish Church of £100, and 1 private individual of £200 . It also received £4000 from a year-long swim challenge, that was taken on by Katie Sparham-Brown when she was a trustee. There was a donation from Carryduff Primary School of £1540 following a fundraiser in the school. The Charity aims to raise £5000 per year from donations or fund raising.
Expenditure over the past year
Finding Hope counselling aims to enable individual children and parents to access counselling support and appropriate services.
To this end the work over the year from April 24 to April 25 involved providing funding and support for a child to receive counselling support after the traumatic and sudden death of a parent. The surviving parent needed the support for their own grief and could not find the funds to support the child at that time. This child received 10 sessions of counselling, and the funding was provided by Finding Hope Counselling. [£500]
The charity supported a mother who was only able to pay £10 towards the cost of counselling and so FHC paid the rest of the cost so her child could get the support needed. The parent was also able to have 4 sessions with the counsellor to enable her to understand her child’s behaviour and her own reactions, as well as ways to improve the family situation. [£280]
The charity provided the funding and support for a child in a local school who was caught in a difficult court battle between parents. The work with the children involved therapeutic play as well as psychoeducation and the work with the parents included resources and intervention ideas to enable them to support the child in their care.
The initial work was within a primary school environment, but when the funding known as “Healthy Happy Minds”, was cut by the Stormont executive, the charity enabled the work to continue until agreement could be sought
between social services, the court and the parents to cover the costs of the counselling and support. [£160 & £155]
Signed
Mrs H. Clarke (Treasurer)