Laois locals raise €10k in one week to save Portlaoise Mental Health charity

Portlaoise based mental health charity SOSAD Laois have managed to raise over €10,000 in one week through generous donations locally.

The charity operates from Shamrock House in Portlaoise, and will be forced to close their doors if they cannot raise €42,000 remain open.

The charity does not receive funding or promotion from state agencies, and are appealing to the public to help keep this vital service available through fundraising.

Charity board member Christy Bannon launched a GoFundMe page six days ago, which has already raised over €10,000.

SOSAD Laois coordinator Ms Shirley McKay thanked the public for their generous donations, and explained to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that they still have a long way to go.

Volunteers Irina Volia and Helena Kavani with Carol Murphy, general manager SOSAD Ireland and Grace Ennis, former Laois SOSAD co-ordinator in 2022. 

"Since the beginning of the year SOSAD Laois has offered 1233 counselling sessions and we saw an increase of 74% in counselling sessions offered in 2024 on the previous year," Ms McKay said.

"Last week alone we offered a total of 106 counselling sessions. 

"SOSAD Ireland was set up 18 years ago and for the past 18 years we have strived to meet the needs of the communities and we plan to meet them far beyond the next 18 years to come.

"To do this we are asking the communities and beyond to please please please get behind us and whether it's a euro or a fiver to please donate to us through our go fund me page which is live on our social media, phone any of our offices or call in person," she said.

"This is a crucial time for the charity SOSAD and we are urging for one final push from the communities to get us over the line until we have our application submitted and reviewed by the HSE. 

Fiona Redmond trainee coordinator, Vicky Dalton Coordinator and Kate Pavlenko administrator. at SOSAD Laois in 2024.

"To everyone who has donated so far we would like to sincerely thank you all. The support is a testament to the power of coming together for a common cause.

Board member Christy Bannon created a GoFundMe page, and explained the associated costs with running this service.

"We need to urgently raise €42,000 by the end of this week to cover this month’s expenses and keep our life saving services running," he said.

"It costs approximately €55,000 per month to provide our services. Already this year we have helped 907 clients. Last year this is what we provided; 22,243 counselling sessions, helped over 1,900 people in 28 Counties around Ireland, an average of 428 hours counselling each week, 300 DBT Sessions offered, 1,111 Helpline calls answered, and 243 Helpline hours logged.

"We have other fundraising events happening around the country over the next two to three months, but it’s vital we get an immediate injection of cash this week to allow us keep our doors open. We need your urgent help to continue to provide our much-needed services and to keep the lights on," he said.

The charity recently lost their vital messaging service due to a lack of funding.

This messaging service allowed the public to speak to a team member over text, any time between 8pm to 12am. The charity announced recently that they were forced to close the operation due to a lack of funding.

Laois Independent TD Brian Stanley raised these issues in the Dáíl, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin responding that the HSE and Deputy Mary Butler are working on the situation.

"The Minister met the organisation to outline the steps that need to be taken for any potential funding application under the section 39 process," the Taoiseach responded.

"As the Deputy knows, as per any negotiation between the HSE and a charity organisation, information such as audited accounts, annual reports, governance arrangements and a bord of management are required so that the HSE can undertake due diligence as part of its consideration," he said.

"SOSAD is now working to provide all of that information to the HSE. It is hoped we can get this sorted," the Taoiseach finished.

You can access SOSAD Laois' GoFundMe page here.