A mental health charity based in Blackheath has been chosen from over 350 charities to win a top national award for its work in helping pregnant women and new mothers.
MumsAid was named the overall winner of the GSK Impact Awards in a ceremony held on Tuesday night. The awards recognise the work of small and medium-sized charities in improving health and wellbeing across the UK.
The charity can now access £40,000 in unrestricted funding and expert support from the King’s Fund, a health and care charity.
MumsAid was established in 2012 to offer help to women struggling to cope emotionally with pregnancy or a new baby. Up to one in five mothers develop mental health problems during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth – a figure that rises to two in three for mothers aged 16 to 24.
The charity now provides individual and couples counselling, befriending; a group therapy programme with free crèche; and creative groups for mothers and their babies, including singing and art.
The judges were particularly impressed with the impact MumsAid has with limited resources. Despite a turnover of about £200,000, the team at MumsAid has been able to support over 300 women and their families every year.
Greenwich has one of the highest teenage conception rates in London, and the charity runs a specialised programme of counselling and support for young mothers.
“We are totally thrilled and humbled to be chosen as the overall winner from such a group of amazing charities,” said MumsAid’s founder and chief executive Miriam Donaghy.
“We are hoping this award will raise the profile of perinatal mental health and help us to support even more pregnant women and mothers across south east London.”
“We are delighted to announce that MumsAid is the overall winner of this year’s awards,” said Lisa Weaks, the assistant director of the King’s Fund.
“The charity’s support for pregnant women and new mums in Greenwich and south east London has never been more important than during the past year, when many young families have found themselves cut off from their local communities and usual support.
“Throughout the pandemic, MumsAid has provided invaluable mental health support to new and expectant mothers and their partners, and worked hard to ensure it offers highly accessible and flexible services and reaches everyone who needs them.”
Earlier this year MumsAid was named as one of ten winners of the prize, picking up £30,000. Now it has won the overall prize, giving it an extra £10,000.
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