Help Counselling, in West London, is celebrating its first year anniversary as a registered charity this week. The Notting Hill service, which offers low cost and holistic counselling from trainee psychotherapists, is based on Portobello Road (number 57). Since the days of the student health line in the late 1960s it has grown into a face to face counselling service offering short term therapy and accepting primary care referrals.
I am about to set off to help (pardon the pun) at the fundraising event at St Peter’s Church in Notting Hill this evening, at which the director of CCPE Nigel Hamilton will be addressing those in attendance. Such events are a great source of motivation to me particularly seeing the altruistic and selfless work in action.
It is heartening that local artists including Luke Martineau, Bernie Joy and Alex Fowler have donated artwork to a charity auction. I am not sure who will be MC but a lively occasion can be expected. Local restaurants including Notting Hill Brasserie, Café Anglais, Electric Brasserie and Ledbury are generously supplying food and drink for the event. Apparently we have HELP tee shirts to wear, I can’t wait.
Mary Ziemer, the HELP Service Director, commented on the anniversery: “It is a quite an achievement, a real milestone. It represents the efforts of many individuals showing their dedication to the service. It has also been a community effort, working together to make the centre a success.”
