Grant Funded Therapy — For Hull and East Riding Only

[Please Notice: We do not provide Grants or Funding]

Though there are services offering counselling for children and young people many have a specific criteria which needs to be met i.e diagnosed mental health problem, being in receipt of certain benefits or the local authority have a statutory duty to assist. However there are a large proportion of children, young people and their families, in and around the city of Hull, that do not meet these criteria and they are not in a position to pay for private therapy, which is often all that is available to them. Therefore we are constantly seeking external funding from charities and other grant providers in order to provide free access to our services for anyone living in Hull who meets the above criteria. The number of sessions offered will depend on the funds available at the time and the needs of the individual, therefore each applicant will be considered on an individual basis.

We have already received monies from Sir James Reckitt Charity, Neil Hudgel Charitable Trust, All Awards, Big Lottery and Children In Need, all of which provided many young people living in Hull with counselling that they would otherwise have been unable to fund.

In December 2017 we received £10,000 per year for 3 years from Children In Need in order to continue to provide one to one counselling for children that cannot access help from any other service and parents are not in a position to fund private therapy.

In addition as we are a ‘not for profit’ organisation half of any profits made will be set-aside and put in to this fund to which clients who meet the above criteria can apply.

If you or your child or someone known to you is in need of therapeutic support and does not meet the criteria for any other services and the local authority do not have a statutory duty to support and there is no possibility of funding the therapy privately please contact us to enquire whether there are any funds available at present. Our email address can be found within the Contact page on this website.

Trust grants £5,000 to help young people who need counselling

Dozens of young people who are in desperate need of help and support will be able to access free counselling sessions thanks to a £5,000 grant from the Neil Hudgell Trust.

Time to Listen provides the sessions for children and young people who require specialist counselling and therapeutic services but are not eligible for statutory support.

This includes those suffering from abuse, dysfunctional family life or breakdown, undiagnosed anxiety or depression, bullying, financial worries and other problems.

The trust grant will pay for 125 sessions, which cost £40 per hour, at the group’s city centre base when young people need it most.

Gail Thornton, director of Time to Listen and senior accredited counsellor for children and young people, said the £5,000 grant, which is the most a single group can apply for from the trust, is a huge boost.

She said: “We rely on securing funding to be able to provide these sessions and we are ecstatic to receive £5,000 from the Neil Hudgell Trust.

“Whoever read our application could see the need. There isn’t always funding to support these children and young people, so having this funding is marvellous.

“It’s going to make a huge difference, not only to children and young people in the East Riding, but to us as an organisation because we can show other people that we have the backing of the trust.”

The grant is for children and young people who cannot access support from anywhere else.

Referrals are received from services such as the local authority, schools and hostels, as well as parents, carers and the individual themselves.

Gail said sessions are tailored to meet the individual needs of every young person they meet.

An average of 10 sessions per person is predicated. But often, some need less, while others may need more.

Gail said: “It depends what the issue is. For example, if someone tells us they are suffering trauma because they were in a road accident two years ago but they still have panic attacks when they see a certain colour of car, we would use specialist trauma therapy to stop the panic attacks.

“I set up Time to Listen because, otherwise, where would these children and young people go?

“We should be investing in the adults of tomorrow. It’s not so much that there is something wrong with the young people, but the environment they are in may not be meeting their needs.

“We ask what we can help them with and build up from there.

“I have known children come to us and say they want to kill themselves because they think they will only get grade B in their exams but are predicated A*. Something has to be done.”

A total of £100,000 is available from the Neil Hudgell Trust over a 12-month period and groups can apply for grants of up to £5,000.

Some individuals are granted discretionary awards when their applications fall short of the trust’s specific grant criteria but the panel feel they are deserving of support.

Jo Hudgell, chair of the trust, said: “The trust can really see the value in a service like Time to Listen for children and young people in Hull and the East Riding.

“Growing up is sometimes a real challenge and young people can face all kinds of difficulties.

“Having someone to talk to through a service such as Time to Listen is something to be welcomed and we are pleased to award the £5,000 grant.”

Visit https://www.hudgellsolicitors.co.uk/the-hudgell-solicitors-trust/ for more information about the Neil Hudgell Trust.