Support network bounces back
An organisation that helps mothers to cope with post-natal distress is thriving after it was hit by a funding crisis which almost forced its closure.
Last March, the Nelson Post Natal Depression Support Network had to put its counselling services on hold as it faced a funding shortfall.
A year on, chairwoman Harriet Denham said the organisation had worked hard to secure funding to ensure it could provide ongoing support for mothers in need.
‘‘I just couldn’t bear the idea of this place folding and it looked so close to it.’’
Denham said she had previously worked as a support worker, counsellor and coordi- nator and she was glad to be in a position where she could step up to help.
In 2014, the group set up a faceto-face counselling service for mums to deal with increasingly serious cases of post-natal distress. Denham said the organisation was the only service in the community that provided ongoing support.
It was important mothers were able to focus on their mental health and wellbeing. Denham said one in five women were affected by post natal depression and there was no rhyme or reason for it.
The organisation had undergone a strategic ‘‘re-jig’’ and had begun to promote itself in a different way.
After news broke of the funding crisis, Denham was overwhelmed with support from a number of businesses and organisations in the region.
Nelson College for Girls had held a mufti day to raise funds, it received a donation from the Golden Slipper Club and bigger organisations like Rotary, The Warehouse, Z Energy, ANZ and the Christine Taylor Foundation for Mental Health.
Local bike shop The Crank House were also donating $1 from every bell sold to the organisation.
Two grants totalling $15,000 from the Hilda Bottomley Charitable Trust had also enabled it to continue providing counselling and support to mothers in the region.
Nelson Post Natal Depression Support Network coordinator Anna Hammond said as a result of the funding crisis, her role with the organisation had changed and there was a greater focus on networking and securing funding.
She was aware how important it was for people to connect with the personal stories of those with post natal depression.
‘‘You can write as much as you want on paper about what we do, but it’s when people actually explain the difference it makes in their lives.’’
Hammond said 2016 was the organisation’s biggest year, with 122 referrals for counselling from doctors, midwives, Plunket nurses and Nelson Bays Primary Health.
It was up 25 per cent from 2015, when the organisation saw 97 patients. It estimated that it would have cost the DHB close to $60,000 if that number had been seen through mental health services.