Charity wants to branch out

Relate North-East is seeking thousands of pounds towards the launch of an outreach service in Richmondshire to help couples struggling to salvage relationships.

The charity is keen to set up counselling sessions in the district to prevent people, especially those living in more remote villages, from having to journey to Relate in Darlington or Northallerton.

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, chief officer of Relate, said there is a significant number of people in the Richmondshire area already using the service elsewhere or making inquiries about it.

She said the reason that no outreach programme has been established in the district before now is due to difficulties in securing sufficient funding.

She said: "We have looked at obtaining funding from charitable trusts, but to date it has not been possible to secure funding for such a localised project."

Relate has now applied to North Yorkshire County Council Richmondshire Area Committee for funding of £5,000 to set up a one year pilot scheme.

Ms Wilkinson-Bell said: "This will enable us to assess how viable it is to operate a local outreach service, specifically for the benefit of Richmondshire residents."

Relate, with 60 years of experience in helping people with their relationships, aims to improve the emotional, sexual and spiritual well-being of individuals by advising them on the benefits of secure couple relationships.

The pilot scheme plans to run four hour-long counselling sessions every week from a local community venue or GP's surgery in Richmond, to educate couples who are married, living together, separated or divorced.

The scheme is estimated to cost around £8,000, including the costs of premises hire, publicity and staffing costs. Relate will make up the £3,000 difference with donations from clients and other funding they have secured.

The committee has almost £43,000 to spend on Richmondshire projects over the financial year and will consider the application at a meeting on Monday.