New Haywards Heath town mayor announces her chosen charity

Councillor Stephanie Inglesfield said she was honoured to select the Haywards Heath based Time4Children, which aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of primary school kids in Mid Sussex.

The mayor said: “Time4Children is a charity who listens to children and as a qualified life coach and a mother of four, this is something that resonates with me.

“Social services, children’s services, mental health services and children’s mental health services are overstretched and this charity bridges the ever-widening gap. Time4Children do not provide counselling but a safe, warm listening service which can be of great benefit to young children going through challenging times. By listening to children who struggle with grief, broken family situations, bullying and all sorts of different unexpressed traumas, the children are given a tool that will serve them well for the rest of their lives – the ability of talking things out, the ability of not keeping it all bottled up.”

Councillor Inglesfield called Time4Children ‘a wonderful charity that provides a mental sanctuary for young children’ and a place ‘where children feel safe, unrushed, respected, valued and able to express themselves’.

She added: “Happy and open children make happy and open adults, giving children the best possible start in life so that they can achieve their full potential.”

Lisa Westbury, project manager at Time4Children, said: “Being chosen as the Mayor’s Charity is just fantastic, it will enable us to offer support to more children in the local area and make a real difference to these children’s lives.”