A GREENOCK charity has vowed to continue its work to reach as many survivors of childhood abuse as possible after helping 1,000 people in a major lifesaving project.

Mind Mosaic Counselling and Therapy offers services to people in Inverclyde and beyond, including specialist therapy for survivors of historic and singular trauma.

The charity is one of 29 recipients of the Survivors of Childhood Abuse (SOCAS) Fund, which was created by the Scottish Government and is managed by Inspiring Scotland.

The £10 million fund was launched in April 2020 and is being distributed between the recipients over the course of four years.

Greenock Telegraph:

It aims to increase the number of survivors being supported throughout Scotland, enhance the quality of support available to them and strengthen the sector through collaborative and partnership work between third sector organisations and statutory services.

In Inverclyde, the funding helps Mind Mosaic deliver counselling, peer support and provide other services.

A review of the the fund’s first three years found that the Greenock centre has supported 1,000 survivors so far.

MindMosaic also carried out an external evaluation of its services around the same time, with positive feedback being received.

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One service user said the help they received left them feeling as though they ‘had control of the most important aspects of [their] life once again’, with another adding that it had been ‘life changing’.

Another survivor said: “I started three years ago with the intention of ending my life and I’m now happy and excited about the future.”

Over the coming year, Mind Mosaic bosses hopes to build on a trend of people accessing support at a younger age, and pushing for earlier intervention for those affected by childhood abuse.

Elain Wroe, project co-ordinator, said: “We’ve found through the evaluation that people are coming in at a younger age.

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“That’s new - that’s a development since the pandemic.

“We are going to try keep that going.

“You want to keep them out the medical model and process what’s happened to them.

“We want people to enjoy life and be present instead of being triggered by the past.”

Mind Mosaic hopes the positive impact highlighted in the evaluations will encourage those in need of support to come forward.

Elaine added: “It’s not what’s wrong with you, it’s what’s happened to you.

“It’s a wound in the nervous system, and you can heal that.”

Those who feel they could benefit from the charity’s services are urged to make an instant referral via the Mind Mosaic website.