Cheshire perinatal mental health charity Smile Group has celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The charity, which is expanding into Nantwich, was founded by Ruth Williams and Natalie Nuttall who both had experience of postnatal depression and saw a gap in community support.
Smile offers peer support, talk therapy, 1-1 services and family sessions for parents facing emotional challenges in pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Services will be offered in Nantwich thanks to grant funding from Cheadle Royal Hospital (CRH) Charitable Trust.
It adapted its services throughout the pandemic restrictions to offer virtual support as well as wellbeing walks.
Smile Group has supported more than 200 parents in 2020, and it became part of The Hearts and Minds Partnership.
This is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, Acacia Family Support (West Midlands) and Bluebell Care (South West).
Ruth said: “We are thrilled to be celebrating a decade of Smile Group.
“We’ve come so far since Natalie and I first set the wheels in motion in 2011.
“We’re proud to be featured in the Royal College of GPs’ Perinatal Mental Health Toolkit and to be rooted in our local communities.
“I know that if a charity like Smile had been around when I had my daughter in 2010 I probably wouldn’t have felt as lonely and unwell as I was. It’s so important to create trusted spaces for honest conversations.”
Tania Stanway, chair of Smile Group and former Perinatal Psychiatrist, added: “Smile has grown from very small beginnings into a well-established, respected charity.
“We have an incredible team and an appetite for sustainable growth.
“This year has been so challenging for new parents and we have worked really hard to adapt and respond to ensure continued support has been available.”
Smile will be hosting a series of events (Covid restrictions permitted) in celebration of its anniversary this year and is set to launch its new website later this month.
For enquiries and further information contact [email protected]
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