£100,000 boost for women's charity (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

£100,000 boost for women's charity

6:00am Tuesday 26th August 2008 in News By Mel Fairhurst

Staff at the Shipley-based Isis Project are celebrating a four-fold increase in funding for the charity, which has been supporting women and their children experiencing mental distress for 15 years.

Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (tPCT) has earmarked more than £100,000 for the service over the next 12 months, compared with around £21,000 per year in the past. It is hoped the increased level of funding will continue in the future.

To celebrate, the charity has undergone a re-launch, complete with an £8,000 make-over at the Farfield Road site and a new logo depicting a blue eye. “Isis” is a goddess in Egyptian culture, representing feminine strength, rebirth and renewal, while the eye symbolises protection and recovery.

The new-look service will now be able to help twice as many women across the district suffering with varying degrees of mental distress, including post-natal depression.

The free service will now cater for around 100 women every week, and its doors will be open from Monday to Friday.

The centre, which is open from 9am to 4.30pm is unique because its crèche caters for children up to the age of five.

Women are referred to the service by their doctor, health centre or health visitor, and courses and sessions are held throughout the week to help women de-stress and build confidence.

Staff emphasise the aim is not for women to become dependent on the service, but to move on in their own lives. After a 12-week intervention programme, women are sign-posted to other services when they feel ready.

Women are then assisted to access other forms of support, through satellite groups or other local services.

Sara Firth, chairman of the centre’s management committee, knows first-hand the centre’s importance, having used the service herself following a breakdown nine years ago.

She said: “It is fantastic to me that the tPCT has recognised the hard work which has gone in to the charity. One in three people will suffer from a mental illness at one time in their lives.”

Sheila Asgari-Tourzan took over the running of the centre at the beginning of the year.

She said: “Hopefully the funding will continue. It means we can deliver about 50 per cent more services and courses. Our collective dream would be to move in to bigger premises to deliver more services, including an outreach service for women who are isolated.”

l For more information or to make a donation, log on to isisproject.co.uk or e-mail susan@isisproject.co.uk e-mail: mel.fairhurst @telegraphandargus.co.uk