Big Issue Invest, the investment arm of the Big Issue, has announced that it will be providing NW Counselling Hub with £50,000 in funding, which will support the social enterprise’s mission to provide mental health support to people in need.
NW Counselling Hub was founded in 2017 by Naomi Watkins-Ligudzinska and Alex Parkin. As co-founders, they felt there were gaps in the local community for supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing. They decided to create the Counselling Hub to fill those gaps. Their vision was to provide a central hub to support children, young people, adults, couples and families within Lincolnshire. NW Counselling’s Mental Health Hub is doing exactly that.
NW Counselling Hub provides mental health support to people via referrals from GP’s, crisis teams, drugs and alcohol services, NHS, and self-referral. It has supported over 5,000 people to date, ranging in age from 4 to 80+ years old, and is currently supporting 200 people a week with online and telephone sessions. It has a further 40 people on the waiting list for face-to-face therapy.
The £50,000 investment from Big Issue Invest will further support NW Counselling Hub’s growth and development, enabling it to reach more people in need of mental health support.
Naomi Watkins-Ligudzinska, CEO at NW Counselling Hub, said: “We are so pleased to have secured this investment from Big Issue Invest. This will enable us to continue our important work of providing mental health support to people in need, especially in these challenging times. We are grateful for the support and recognition of our work by Big Issue Invest, and we look forward to working together to make a positive impact on people’s lives.”
Michael Burns, Investment Manager at Big Issue Invest, said: “We are delighted to support NW Counselling Hub CIC. Mental health support is more important than ever, and NW Counselling Hub is providing vital services to those in need. We believe in the social enterprise’s mission and are excited to see NW Counselling Hub grow from strength to strength and reach even more people.”
