A CUMBRIA charity which transforms the lives of vulnerable people and supports those who self-harm has received a welcome funding boost.

Self-harm Awareness For All, which has a base in Duke Street in Barrow, was picked as the recipient of a £1,000 cheque from the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund.

The money was raised at an annual celebrity chef event held in Dalton, hosted and sponsored by Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant.

The charity faces an ever-increasing demand for its talking therapies as more and more people in the area struggle to cope with mental health problems such as eating disorders.

The latest figures show a total of 132 clients were seen by SAFA during March, 79 of which were between the ages of 11 and 18, and the numbers continue to rise.

Increased demand

Rod White, chairman of SAFA, said the money would be a huge help towards keeping services going.

He said: "SAFA is immensely grateful for the generous donation from the Lake District Farmers which will help us continue our work supporting self-harmers in Furness and throughout Cumbria.

"As has been widely published, and with the help of the Evening Mail's Healthy Young Minds campaign, the number of people, and in particular young people, who need services such as ours has been growing, and any funds that come our way will be carefully spent on providing support."

Lifesaving work

SAFA relies on self-sourced grants and fundraising to carry out its vital work in the county, providing support to vulnerable adults and children and ending the stigma surrounding self-harm.

Over the years, the charity has been credited with saving the lives of   self-harmers who felt they had nowhere else to turn and was nominated for this year's Love Barrow Awards.

Staff accepted a £1,000 donation towards their project when Evening Mail editor, James Higgins, visited the charity's Barrow base last week.

Every month, the Evening Mail gives away cash to worthy charities and causes in south Cumbria through the fund.

Click here to apply for the £1,000 donation.

Mental health facts

- One in four people experience mental health problems every year, and three-quarters of those receive no help.

- The cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society has been put at £105 billion a year.

- The leading cause of death for men aged 15 to 49 is suicide and a quarter of people who took their own life had been in contact with a health professional, usually their GP, in the last week before they died.

- Half of all mental health problems have been established by the age of 14, rising to 75 per cent by age 24.

- One in ten children aged five to 16 has a diagnosable problem such as conduct disorder, anxiety, ADHD or depression.