Haywards Heath mayor announces her chosen charity

Town Mayor, Cllr Stephanie Inglesfield says: “Time4Children is a charity who listens to children and as a qualified life coach and a mother of 4, this is something that resonates with me.

“Social services, children’s services, mental health services and children’s mental health services are overstretched and this charity bridges the ever-widening gap. Time4Children do not provide counselling but a safe, warm listening service which can be of great benefit to young children going through challenging times.

“By listening to children who struggle with grief, broken family situations, bullying and all sorts of different unexpressed traumas, the children are given a tool that will serve them well for the rest of their lives – the ability of talking things out, the ability of not keeping it all bottled up. This can potentially nip mental health problems in the bud or at the very least help them cope with things better when they arise in the future.

"Time4Children is a wonderful charity that provides a mental sanctuary for young children, a safe space where they can express what they feel, it is a place where adults listen and do not lecture, where adults take their cue from the children and not the other way around. It provides a place where children feel safe, unrushed, respected, valued and able to express themselves.

“Happy and open children make happy and open adults, giving children the best possible start in life so that they can achieve their full potential. I am honoured and delighted to announce Time4Children as my charity for my term of office.”

Lisa Westbury, project manager at Time4Children, adds: “Time4Children are absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the Mayor’s charity. We are a small charity based in Haywards Heath, who provide free weekly 1:1 listening support sessions to children in primary schools across Mid Sussex. The children we support are facing a variety of challenges in their lives. These sessions give them the opportunity to explore their worries, fears, anxieties and experiences with a trained volunteer practitioner.Being chosen as the Mayor’s Charity is just fantastic, it will enable us to offer support to more children in the local area and make a real difference to these children’s lives. We look forward to working with Stephanie over the coming year.”