The Christian Counselling service Wellspring Therapy and Training, which was started by St Andrew’s Church in Starbeck just outside Harrogate, has had a grand reopening in its new premises – the former Starbeck vicarage.
Bishop Nick Baines, the Bishop of Leeds, a patron of Wellspring, unveiled a commemorative plaque and blessed the new home for the mental health charity at an event attended by supporters including local MP Andrew Jones, and head teacher at St Aidan’s CE High School, John Wood.
St Andrew’s Vicarage was bought from the diocese by the Liz and Terry Bramhall Foundation and has been renamed Wellspring House. £300,000 was raised by local supporters to transform the former vicarage and Tuesday’s official opening was an opportunity for the Christian charity to share plans for the future.
Although a Christian charity, the services are provided for anyone in the community regardless of belief and conducted by trained professional counsellors.
The new centre, four times the size of the previous rooms, will be used to offer affordable counselling and training for the local community. New services will also be offered at the Centre, including play therapy for children under the age of 8.
Emily Fullarton, Director at Wellspring, said, “The launch of the Centre today was a very proud moment for me and all the other volunteers who give their time to supporting those people within our local community who turn to us for help.
“It would not have been possible without the support of the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation and our other supporters, so thank you to everyone who has played their part in getting to where we are today.
“The facts around poor mental-health are shocking and the UK is a long way from providing for those struggling with emotional distress or poor mental-health. 16 million people in the UK experience a mental illness in their lifetime, that’s 1 in 4 adults – so the work we do in our community is so incredibly important.”
She told local newspaper the Harrogate Advertiser, “This is just the start - we’ve got many dreams and plans for this building. First of all, we want to do more of what we already do because we know it works and we know it’s what our community needs - so we want to deliver more counselling, we want to deliver more training, and we are open to having more volunteers.”
Bishop Nick said, “This is a place of genuine healing because it creates a space in which people can discover that they are loved and that they are known, and that they don't have to hide. And that is an enormous gift. It’s an honour to be a patron of Wellspring.”
Picture above courtesy of Ackrill newspapers/Harrogate Advertiser