Local charities have successfully applied for this new limited funding opportunity through the Cheshire and Merseyside Women & Children’s Services Partnership and its initiative to improve maternal mental health after Covid-19. The funding has gone on to support women and their families who are expecting a child or have recently given birth, who may have been affected by social isolation due to Covid-19.
The successful applicants include:
These organisations have resources or training programmes available covering areas such as:
- Mental health / wellbeing peer support for women
- mental health / wellbeing peer support for partners
- Improved well-being by offering knowledge, advice and understanding of mental health
- Signposting and supported navigation into services
- Expansion of social networks to increase well being
With £20,000 allocated for each Place (Local Authority Area) in Cheshire and Merseyside, these applicants have all received a quarter each which has been put immediately to good use.
The programme focussed on:
- Physical health, mental wellbeing, friendship groups, guest speakers, and training for volunteers
- Midwives, health visitor and specialist perinatal mental health team. In depth Peer support volunteers, parent and baby support groups, home visits
- Focused shared reading group, access to wider service, Focus on DV
- Classes, play, yoga, hypnobirthing, antenatal, focus on parents who have lost a baby
Koala NW is delighted to receive funding from the Improving Maternal Mental Health VCSE Small Grants Programme. The grant will support the volunteer element of our Parent Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS) by contributing towards the costs of our PIMHS Volunteer training programme. It will also enable us to purchase mobile phones for the PIMHS Volunteers to provide regular telephone calls, texts and video calls to parents who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing during the perinatal period.
– Bev Morgan, CEO at Kolala NW
The CVS network across Cheshire & Merseyside ran this small grant programme. In each area they established a Community of Practice that brung funded organisations together to share best practice and to look at ways in which they can work together to make a real difference in our communities.
