Mayo cancer charity asks Government to put 'their money where their mouth is'

A MAYO cancer charity has called on the Government to put 'their money where their mouth is' and provide greater funding for community cancer support units.

Mayo Cancer Support, a Castlebar-based charity which provides free emotional support to people affected by cancer, must raise €210,000 each year to cover the costs of providing services.

Orla Gillespie, the Manager Mayo Cancer Support, told the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District that of that €210,000, they receive just 10 percent in Government grants with the rest coming from fundraising and donations.

She explained that community cancer support units like Mayo Cancer Support are an integral part in a cancer patient's recovery but this is not measured in State assistance.

“I do not like going around with the begging bowl but our challenge is very real and very stark for us. It is no joke to coordinate a church gate collection or a flag day. The drain on our resources is huge but we are so dependent on fundraising that we have to.

“If you are working with local TDs or lobbying ministers, please do reinforce the importance of putting their money where their mouth is when they tell us how much they value our service with funding that is sustainable for us,” she said.

Mayo Cancer Support, which was formerly known as Rock Rose House, is based at St Patrick's Avenue in Castlebar and this year celebrates 25 years since it was founded in 1999.

As well as providing a drop-in service at the Rock Rose House Centre in Castlebar, they also have outreach centres in Ballina and Achill with plans to continue to expand this service in other parts of the county.

Ms Gillespie explained that they employ two professional psychotherapists who provide free one to one counselling services for anyone who needs it as well as other healing services. She said that on average they provide 1,200 client sessions per year along with 250 complementary therapies and 450 counselling sessions.

“We do not charge our clients for any of the services we give them and it is not just for the cancer patients, their family members are equally welcome to try them. Sometimes it is more relevant for the family member because they are carrying everything and they are equally affected by stress and fear.

“At the moment the grants we receive annually account for about 10 percent of our €210,000. We get a section 39 grant from the HSE but unfortunately that has been reduced for two years in succession now. The HSE gets the same figure every year but the number of organisations applying to them is growing and there is not enough money to go around. It means unfortunately long standing organisations like us are seeing continuous cuts to what we have historically been getting from them,” she told the councillors at the meeting.

Ms Gillespie thanked the local councillors for their financial support towards Mayo Cancer Support over the years by way of their GMA allocation and asked them to lobby local TDs to ensure community charities are supported by central government.

The work done by Mayo Cancer Support was lauded by the local councillors who all offered their assistance in any way they could to support the charity.

“Thank you for what you do for people in their darkest hour and I will be lobbying TDs - and I'm sure we all will - for greater funding because it is really needed,” said Cllr Donna Sheridan.

Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne added that the care Mayo Cancer Support gives people in their darkest hours cannot be understated but pointed out that there can be some confusion among the public regarding Mayo Cancer Support and other charities such as Mayo Roscommon Hospice and the Irish Cancer Society.

Ms Gillespie accepted this is the case and asked the local councillors to ‘spread the word’ about Mayo Cancer Support and the services they provide to the community.