The Brain Charity
The Brain Charity’s #Sixmas Appeal
One in six people live with a neurological condition; many face poverty, mental illness, loneliness and isolation as a result. The Brain Charity’s #Sixmas appeal will fund vital counselling and befriending to support our clients’ mental health as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It ran from 12:00 PM, 30 November 2021 to 12:00 PM, 7 December 2021
Registered Charity in England and Wales (1114999)
Match funded Campaign target
£5,000
Amount raised
£4,382
Donations
63
Championed by The Reed Foundation
Location
United Kingdom
Campaign overview
Aims
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
Situation
Social isolation is not a new issue for people with neurological conditions. They are twice as likely to have depression or anxiety, and even before COVID-19, more than half our clients regularly felt lonely. The pandemic means demand for our services is at an all-time high. The number of people coming to us with suicidal thoughts has shot up by 50%. We desperately need funds to increase how many clients our counsellors and befrienders, a vital lifeline for hundreds, can see each week.
Solution
The Brain Charity supports people’s emotional health by: Operating a counselling service tailored to the needs of people with neurological conditions. We provide both person-centred and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, have experience working with phobias and conditions such as OCD and ADHD, and work with individuals, couples, families and groups. \n Delivering a befriending service that provides isolated clients with weekly calls and visits (covid-permitting) from a volunteer befriender.
"I was waking up and didn't want to be awake. I was in a dark place. My counsellor was absolutely amazing, it was the best thing I could ever have done. I needed a specialist who understood neurological conditions - not many people know what a wide-reaching impact they have on your life."
— Counselling client Marie, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour shortly after her daughter's birth
“I was feeling very alone, isolated by the pandemic and struggling with everything. Having no one to talk to was terrible, I was going days not speaking to anyone at all. That’s why the phone calls from my befriender were so vital."
— Newly unemployed telephone befriending client Craig*, who has a rare brain condition
“The calls have been a lifeline, especially during the lockdown as Graham had been shielding. When mental health professionals fell silent during lockdown The Brain Charity were the first people to call to check if we were ok."
— Jane, whose husband Graham benefited from befriending calls after a brain haemorrhage
“Just to have someone on the other end of the phone who understands my frustration and accepts this is not personal to them, has helped me start to take on what has happened to me.”
— Counselling client who wished to remain anonymous