Newbridge Based Charity Counselling Service Hope (D) To Close Its Doors In August

The charity has said due to a lack of funding it can no longer provide the service, because of soaring costs.

Hope(D) has said they are closing the charity with 'profound sadness and deep regret' on the 31st August.

The Newbridge based charity was a place for people to find support in times of crisis and a community hub for volunteers and anyone wishing to drop in for a quick chat or a cup of tea.

Hope(D) was set up in 2003 to support people who were bereaved by suicide, it has since evolved into providing immediate therapeutic support to people experiencing suicidal thoughts or depression.

Chairperson Chris Pender said, with COVID over the last two years preventing us from being able to fundraise properly and the rising cost of overheads, it has become clear that the service is unfortunately unsustainable.

He said despite their best efforts, including reducing energy consumption by 30%, bill sare continuing to rise.

Speaking on Friday's Kildare Focus, Cllr.Pender said that the charity would need at least €40,000 just to remain open until the end of year, "rent is eating us alive," he added.

Kildare - Newbridge Cllr. Chris Pender commented: "This year alone since January we had over 75 people accessing services, which amounted to 750 hours of counselling hours since then.

"The people have come through the doors of Hope(D), have walked back out the doors," he said.

"This is not a decision we have made lightly and not a decision that we ever wanted to make. Still, unfortunately, it is a decision we have had to make.

"We want to assure the public that every effort has been made to maintain the service and access funding from all possible sources," he insisted.

Hope(D) has said since beginning the process of closure, it has engaged with other services to take over our waiting list.

It also advises that it will remain working and open long enough to finish out with those clients already accessing the services.

Hope(D) Chairperson, Cllr. Chris Pender spoke to Ciara Noble on Kildare Focus about the closure of the facilities, which he has used in the past.

Listen back to the full interview here: