Equine therapy for mental health supported by The Cumberland

Published on
5 November 2024

A Cumbrian equine therapy programme has received funding from the Cumberland’s Charitable Foundation.

The building society made a donation from its Cumberland Branch Community Fund to a scheme which helps people dealing with trauma by giving them the chance to spend time with horses.

The Community Fund is administered by The Cumberland’s branch network and is a registered charity which supports community groups and charitable causes in the business’s heartland.

Donations up to £100 are considered and awarded on an individual basis by branch teams, with donations over this amount considered by the fund’s board of trustees.

In the last financial year The Cumberland Branch Community Fund donated almost £25,000 to community groups and charitable causes to support 165 community groups and charitable causes.

Refugees from Syria, Iran and Sudan recently took part in equine therapy sessions thanks to funding from the Community Fund.

The sessions are provided by Brampton based ChangeWays Through Horses CIC which specializes in equine assisted therapy, working with the Carlisle based charity Safety Net which supports asylum seekers.

Coral Harrison, who is the founder of ChangeWays and a Child and Adult Psychotherapist, said: “The most important thing with working with people with trauma is to get them into the moment, and concentrate on the experience with the horses.

“They came in with their heads down and then we could see them smiling and really enjoying the moment.

“We couldn’t speak in the same language, but it was amazing how the horses responded to them, they just wanted to be around them.”

Speaking through a translator, one of the participants said: “We saw the horses and brushed them, it was amazing. We remembered the past, but this will pass. I feel better.”

Coral explained: “What they needed was peace and calm to remind them that there is a different life after all they had been through. For some, it reconnected them to Syria, the time before the war.

“There was a lot of emotion, it was very moving, it touched the sadness and sorrow about leaving everything behind.”

The sessions, which have been especially designed for people seeking asylum in Cumbria, allow small groups to spend time with horses or ponies, supported by staff and translators.

Coral said: “The help we’ve had through The Cumberland has been a big help to us in putting on sessions like this.”

The Cumberland Branch Community Fund funded six equine therapy sessions.

Susan Bradbury, a trainee manager at The Cumberland, recently visited ChangeWays Through Horses CIC which is based near Brampton, to hear how the building society’s grant had helped the asylum seeker sessions.

She said: “I think the work that they are doing is really special, it’s so inspiring, humbling and heartwarming.

“Coral and Sue are very special, selfless people, some of the stories they have told me today have been really touching.

“The collaboration is fantastic and leads the way for other organizations and businesses to take note. ChangeWays are leading by example.”

Other groups which have received funding from the Cumberland Branch Community Fund in the last year include Heartbeat North-West Cardiac Care. The money went towards the cost of cardiac rehabilitation classes for people with heart disease.

Another recipient was Brampton Bus Buddy Scheme, an initiative to support elderly people who would like to get out and about but might be nervous about travelling alone on public transport.

To find out more about The Cumberland Branch Community Fund please click here.