(Image – First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford with ABF staff)
Wrexham mental health and wellbeing charity Advance Brighter Futures (ABF) welcomed the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford to its community building recently.
ABF was awarded £145,818 by Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme, which has allowed the charity to construct a two-storey extension, provide additional one-to-one rooms, improve some of the internal facilities and increase the car parking capacity.
The charity is pleased to be working with Malcolm Davies and Sons as the building contractor and BluePrint as the architects to deliver this. Both companies are working with ABF to ensure value for money alongside the development of outstanding facilities.
The First Minister visited the charity at 3 Belmont Road on Wednesday, November 24th and got to see firsthand the progress on extensive work to extend and enhance the premises. It was his second visit to ABF this year, having previously visited the charity in April.
Building work commenced in September and the First Minister was delighted to see this development underway, which will make a big difference to the local community when completed.
Rick Bedson, Chair of Trustees at ABF, said: “It was great to see the First Minister again and show him how things are shaping up at Belmont Road. The building work hadn’t started when he visited us earlier in the year, so he was able to see the big improvements we’ve made over the past couple of months. A big development has been made to the rear of the building, where we now have the structure of our extension in place. Although there’s still plenty of work to be done, he got to see significant changes both internally and externally to the property.”
ABF Chair of Trustees Rick Bedson and the First Minister by the new extension
Lorrisa Roberts, Chief Officer at ABF, said: “Our building simply didn’t reflect the standard our community deserves. A poor environment contributes to the negativity that people feel when in distress or crisis. Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme is allowing us to create a people-friendly premises that will match the people-centred, quality mental health support we deliver.”
Welsh Government Deputy Minister and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt, said: “The Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme supports some fantastic local projects to evolve and grow to meet the specific needs of their area.
“Offering grants like these to community-led projects helps to improve much needed facilities, which play such an important part in the lives of people throughout Wales. I want to thank the third sector organisations and volunteers who work so hard within their communities to deliver vital help and support where it is most needed – your efforts are inspiring.”
If you live in the Wrexham area and struggling with your mental health, you can learn more about ABF and the services on offer here:
Telephone: 01978 364777
Email: info@abfwxm.co.uk