News
Mental health services in the time of Covid-19
7 April 2020
Virtual Kite Festival 2020
28 September
18 & 22 Ivy St, Observatory
Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 (0) 21 447 9040
Email: info@cmh.org.za
7 April 2020
28 September
18 & 22 Ivy St, Observatory
Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 (0) 21 447 9040
Email: info@cmh.org.za
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R0.00
Everyone everywhere is invited to the first-ever virtual Cape Town International Kite Festival, from 10 to 31 October.
Fly with us and give hope by helping Cape Mental Health provide free mental health services to people in low-income communities at this time of unprecedented need.
Simply give a donation or buy a ticket to our virtual #CTKiteFest. You could change someone’s life.
Share this page
Share this page
R50.00
Everyone everywhere is invited to the first-ever virtual Cape Town International Kite Festival, from 10 to 31 October.
Fly with us and give hope by helping Cape Mental Health provide free mental health services to people in low-income communities at this time of unprecedented need.
Simply give a donation or buy a ticket to our virtual #CTKiteFest. You could change someone’s life.
Share this page
You can join kiters all over the world at the virtual 26th Cape Town International Kite Festival. Fly your kite anywhere and anytime that suits you from 10 to 31 October. Share your photos, videos or messages of hope on social media, tagging #HopeOnTheRise and @CTKiteFest, to feature on the official CTKiteFest social feeds. There are some fantastic prizes to win!
We are flying to raise R250, 000 for essential, free mental health services that save lives and restore dignity. Fly with us and help keep ‘hope on the rise’.
Terms & conditions:
Bake, make, sew or grow a kite using absolutely anything. Let your imagination fly high and you may win a prize for innovation.
Terms & conditions:
Details – on the form (as per design brief) – link to downloadable, printable PDF
Form – Please design a version of the logo (with the kite enlarged and the rainbow) that children can color in?
Terms & Conditions
R2,000.00
Mental Health Program
R2000 or more can help sustain essential mental health services in poorly resourced communities
Cape Mental Health reaches more than 34 000 people every year – helping individuals and their families to be more resilient and to cope with the impact of living with mental disability.
“I live in a township, far from the city where the jobs are. My family is poor and depends on my monthly disability grant to survive. Cape Mental Health has provided me with training and helped me find a job as a groundsman. Now I have a future to look forward to, despite my disability.”
“My life has changed for the better – I have learnt how to manage my disability, have met people who understand me and accept me and, best of all, I have not had a relapse or been hospitalised since I joined Cape Mental Health’s psychosocial rehabilitation programme. Now I can focus on getting a job and living independently.
These are two voices amongst the thousands whose lives have changed through the support and opportunities provided by Cape Mental Health. Your contribution can give hope, so please be generous and donate today.
R1,600.00
I have food on the table!
R1 600 can provide a needy family of 6 with food for a month
Children and adults with mental disabilities are going to bed HUNGRY at night. Donate R1 600 to provide a poor family of 6 members with food relief for a month. There are 500 families on our waiting list for food parcels who need your support.
“Thank you so much for the parcel and the sponsors; it really made a big difference to me and my kids. I literally had no money and no food and this came just in time. May God bless you and all that were involved, thank you so much again! “
With the support of various funders, we have already provided 1 218 food parcels to 497 families but a single food parcel lasts only a week.
Persons receiving disability grants do not qualify for food parcels from the Department of Social Development, and they are not coping financially with most of the breadwinners not earning an income during the lockdown.
Donations of food and purchased food items are delivered to our Training Workshops Unlimited Athlone facility where they are sorted, packed and distributed by staff following strict health protocols. All drivers have essential permits and wear the necessary PPE protective gear when they make deliveries. Our food parcels are then delivered to the homes of our beneficiaries in disadvantaged communities, sparing them the indignity of having to queue for food in public places, lessening the risk of contracting COVID-19 and offering them hope and a sense of community.
R700.00
I look forward to my first job and being more independent!
R700 will provide a young person with a mental disability with life skills and work skills opportunities for 6 months
Youth with mental disability are often robbed of the usual milestones to adulthood and greater independence – finishing their schooling, accessing tertiary education, getting their first job, socialising with peers, and contributing to society. Youth with pre-existing mental disorders may be especially hard hit by the potentially severe and long-term mental health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Your contribution to our life skills and vocational skills training programmes will create a future for our youth and ultimately a better future for our society.
“I am determined to get a job in the open labour market so that I can improve my life and that of my family. I have learnt so much already, thanks to Cape Mental Health, and have overcome so many challenges. Nothing can stop me now. “
They are challenged by discrimination and exclusion daily – and cannot build a better future getting by on a disability grant that usually has to support an entire family. The challenges that persons with mental disabilities face are a result of stigma and exclusion and vary from lack of opportunities for decent housing, healthcare, educational and recreational opportunities, employment and opportunities to earn a living wage.
It is only through life skills and vocational skills training, job creation and self-advocacy opportunities that our Training Workshops Unlimited and Fountain House (SA) programmes are able to empower more than 1 000 youth annually.
Remote interventions during lockdown have kept our service users with mental disabilities thoroughly engaged and in close contact with our staff to ensure holistic well-being and resilience. Messages, photos and video clips have testified to members’ enthusiasm in implementing a scheduled programme of arts and crafts, hygiene, physical exercises and life skills training.
R425.00
I can learn!
R425 will sponsor school fees for a child with severe or profound intellectual disability
All children have the right to education. Sadly, children with severe and profound intellectual disability may be denied this right because their parents and guardians are struggling to pay modest school fees for a quality education and skills development programme. You can sponsor a disabled child from a disadvantaged community for a month, ensuring that education and learning continue during the lockdown and beyond. There are 184 children at our centres who deserve to learn and develop to their full potential.
“We start our day with the morning ring and from there our child’s day is planned. With the daily activities we ensure that our child’s mind stays active as it is so easy for them to forget what their teachers teach them. The teacher and parents can work together to ensure they come up with the best possible routine for their child.” – WhatsApp message from parent
For many years, children with severe or profound intellectual disability were simply ignored as being ‘ineducable’ and denied their right to education!
Cape Mental Health runs 3 award-winning special education and daycare centres in impoverished communities for 184 children with severe to profound intellectual disability.
For these children, this represents a hard-won victory serving as recognition that each child has the undeniable right to education as safeguarded by our country’s Constitution, irrespective of their abilities.
During the lockdown, our children can’t attend our centres for face-to-face activities, so our remote interventions are vital. Our pre-planned programmatic activities are now being implemented at home with the help of parents and guardians through scheduled activities and lessons. These are communicated to parents and service users through WhatsApp messages, videos and images.
The programme offers daily orientation that improves learners’ self-awareness and responsiveness to people and their surroundings. They develop motor skills for improved mobility, better body control, and self-care skills for greater independence. They also develop communication, cognitive, social and emotional skills to help build rewarding relationships and enjoy inclusion in family life.
R350.00
I can face the future again!
R350 will sponsor a counselling session for someone in despair and at risk
Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds because they have not received the mental health support they need. Donate R350 to provide a counselling session and ongoing support by an experienced mental health professional to save the life of someone struggling to cope with depression, anxiety or other mental disorders.
“I felt that my life had no purpose and no meaning and that everyone would be better off without me. Without the support I received, I would not be here today and ready to face the future.”
Did you know that 75% of South Africans can’t access mental health services
when they need them most? Without the necessary mental health support
a valuable life is lost every 40 seconds.
We see the consequences of inadequate mental health care in our schools, in the workplace, in primary health care services and state institutions. The impact of depression and other mental health disorders is evident in all sectors of society, but especially in vulnerable groups such as children and youth.
Accidental death and homicide is the leading cause of death of youth aged 15 to 29, but suicide is the second leading cause of death of South African youth.
Suicide is 100% preventable!
The best investments you will ever make is to safeguard your own mental health and help restore the mental health of a vulnerable person.
R150.00
R150 will help us purchase data to support our virtual mental health services
The COVID-19 lockdown regulations mean that our organisation can’t offer its services and community-based programmes in the usual manner, despite the growing need for our mental health services. We therefore keep our ‘doors open’ by maintaining and building relationships and communicating with those in need of our services using remote technology such as WhatsApp, SMS messages, cellphone calls, Zoom, and social media where possible. Your donation of R150 will enable us to purchase data so that we can remain connected with our service users.
“Thank you for the regular motivational messages and for checking in on me to make sure I am well and not back in hospital. My social worker is always there when I need her.”
Did you know that people with mental disability already feature amongst the most stigmatised, ignored and neglected people in our communities? We are committed to making regular contact with those in need of mental health services to lessen their isolation, safeguard their mental health, and offer them hope in difficult times such as these.
We share vital information on COVID-19, physical distancing and hygiene measures in a way that is understandable and accessible – to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect our service users.
We also provide support, counselling, daily stimulation activities and reinforcement of skills so that our service users continue to function at the highest level possible.
