Nominated Charity

The nominated Charity for 2020 is The Olive Branch

The Olive Branch was formed in 2017 by Alan Mulholland (Chairman) & Leoné Paul (Vice Chairwoman). It was our vision to offer a FOC, professional, self -referral, no appointment necessary counselling service. We thought a professional service that could be accessed at the exact point of need, without a long waiting time and referral process would impact more greatly due to the delicate stage the client is at when reaching out for help. We also know that private counselling is out of most people’s reach. TOB is always busy, with many success stories known though client testimonials. We see a very varied age group from 11 years to 70. Anxiety is the number one complaint followed closely by depression; however, we have seen many suicidal patients, one notably who had gone into a state of psychosis and medical intervention had to be sought. We are also increasingly seeing young children and their distraught parents who because of bullying or low self-esteem or various other problems have grave notions of committing suicide. The Olive Branch are totally committed to helping every patient no matter what the issue back onto their path of mental wellness. Our Centre offers an unbiased, confidential, professional service in a safe environment. Northern Ireland has the highest suicide rate in the UK and also the highest rate of mental illness, despite this we still have the lowest amount pledged in government spend. This is what drives myself and Alan to continuously fundraise to assist in with Northern Ireland’s mental Health crisis. We are 100% reliant on public/business support and have received no government funding to date. Myself and Alan work 100% voluntary and the TOB staff are permanent and paid. The Olive Branch

The nominated Charity for the past 3 years 2017-2019

Air Ambulance NI