Group gets £7k lottery funding for mental wellbeing project

A church group has received £7,000 of National Lottery funding to run a six-month project aiming to support mental wellbeing in Caerphilly.

The project is being run by the Gateway Church, which is based at Cwrt Rawlin school in Caerphilly town.

Claire Hughes, who attends the church, set up the project due to concerns about people’s mental wellbeing during lockdown.

The classes are based on the Japanese principle of ‘Kintsugi’ – which involves repairing pottery with seams of gold.

Ms Hughes is hoping to run the classes both in person and through video conferencing app Zoom.

Children’s classes will run for six weeks, while adult classes will also run for six weeks, with the option for a further six.

Ms Hughes said: “We were excited to receive the funding as it means that we can resource and manage a greater number of courses across the town, hopefully helping far more people to positively deal with the challenges that life and lockdown brings.

“Whether on Zoom or in person, we hope to create an atmosphere where course participants will have the opportunity to not just hear from experts on topics like anxiety, anger, grief and self-acceptance but also unpack these topics through discussing them together.

“There will be the opportunity during each session to reflect personally on the issues being discussed. Our hope is that these groups will provide a safe space for sharing and supporting each other through the challenges we face.”

After meeting with Ms Hughes to discuss the project, Caerphilly’s Senedd Member, Hefin David, said: “Over several years, I’ve seen at first hand the work that Claire and her family do for their community through the Gateway Church.

“Claire wants to help others and this project to run wellbeing workshops is another step towards that. I will do my best to support them.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the classes can contact Ms Hughes on 07719 356240 or by emailing info@gatewaychurchcaerphilly.co.uk