The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge grant £1.8 to frontline mental health charities
William and Catherine have awarded £1.8 Million ($2.3 Million) in order to support mental health charities with initiatives to help frontline workers. The Royal Foundations COVID-19 response fund is the foundations first crisis response grant and aims to build on the work that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have done in supporting frontline workers and mental health in recent months.
The Royal Foundation has consulted extensively in different areas in order to allocate these funds to ensure eight key goals are met. These goals are outlined below and build on previous work from the Duke and Duchess including their interests in grief counselling, frontline workers, crisis support, children, teacher and parent support, and maternal support.
All emergency responders will have access to individual grief trauma counselling from Hospice UK;
Over 250,000 emergency responders will have access to peer-to-peer support through Mind’s Blue Light programme;
The Ambulance Staff Charity will be able to provide an additional 2,780 hours of support for the UK’s ambulance community;
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) will be able to respond to 2,300 more contacts each month;
Shout 85258 will be able to have 250 more text message conversations with people who are struggling to cope every day;
The Mix will expand their group chat service for young people to seven days per week;
Teachers, children and their parents will be supported to cope with mental health needs including self-care and managing anxiety as schools re-open, thanks to training and resources from Place2Be and The Anna Freud Centre; and
Best Beginnings will deliver a Digital Outreach Programme and maternal mental health training to Home-Start volunteers and midwives so an additional 20,000 expectant and new mothers will be supported by Baby Buddy, their NHS approved pregnancy and parenting app
Their Royal Highnesses have spent much of lockdown reaching out to vulnerable communities, frontline workers and mental health charities. They have both spoken on the impact that lockdown and COVID-19 will continue to have on Britons mental health even after the virus is managed. These funds are being placed in areas they believe will help the people most in need.
When the COVID-19 Response fund was announced, William and Catherine spoke with two emergency responders and two mental health
counselors who will directly benefit from the fund. They heard about the challenges that they have faced and continue to face due to the pandemic. After hearing some of their stories Catherine said, “Over recent months we have all been in awe of the incredible work that frontline staff and emergency responders have been doing in response to COVID-19, but we know that for many of them, their families, and for thousands of others across the UK, the pandemic will have a lasting impact on their mental health.”
If you would like to learn more about the fund or more about ways you can help support frontline workers and mental health charities please visit https://royalfoundation.com/