A charity which provides counselling services to the needy has been awarded nearly £70,000 in government funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund.

The money, distributed by the National Lottery, has been awarded to Cambridgeshire Consultancy in Counselling (CCC) which will allow it to provide counselling to 70 people and to cover internal costs.

It comes at a time when the pandemic is causing an increase in demand for help.

CCC is a mental health charity which has provided affordable counselling and services to organisations and individuals in the local community over the past 42 years.

It helps those in need who either cannot afford to pay for market rate counselling or wait for a GP referral – which can sometimes take up to 16 weeks.

Judie Jones, director at CCC, said: “Receiving this funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund is a fantastic achievement for the charity and we couldn’t be more grateful.

“The funding will allow us to provide counselling to 70 people in need who can’t access the services in another way. It really is a life-changing opportunity for those people and will allow us to continue our services for other individuals and organisations as a result.”

She added: “This grant is a testament to all our counsellors and trustees, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our work. We are all incredibly grateful for the support from the government and The National Lottery.”

The charity currently provides its services to individuals and organisations across Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties, while also working alongside charities such as Little Miracles and the Light Project to support staff and service users. Between August 2019 and August 2020 it delivered 5,382 counselling sessions to both corporate clients and individuals.

Further information is available from http://www.cambridgeshirecounselling.org.uk/