A DORSET charity which helps adults overcome childhood abuse is having to collect stamps, organise quizzes and do sponsored runs to raise the shortfall in its funding.

Hurting to Healing (the new name for Dorset Action on Abuse) secured a £60,000 a year Big Lottery Reaching Communities grant plus support from 19 donor organisations but needs to 'fundraise actively' to cover the shortfall in its £110,000 a year average running costs.

Annual report author Juli Harman said stamp collecting and the other initiatives were all needed to raise the money to 'keep the doors at DAA open'.

Service Director Dr Zoë Pool said: "Financially, the next few years are going to be very challenging as we endeavour to increase our fundraising activities to ensure we are 100 per cent sustainable once the Big Lottery funding has ceased."

She said continuing NHS cuts were generating an increase in referrals of clients with complex difficulties. "A surprisingly large number of our client have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, complex post traumatic stress disorder, personality and mood disorders, including borderline, emotionally unstable and bi-polar," she said. "Some of them have struggled for decades to get help to overcome their symptoms and distress."

Despite being 'energised' by the lottery grant she said: "Even so,

throughout 2016 we faced many challenges. Our premises, IT server, policies, database, website, database and evaluation systems all needed overhauling and updating to support the excellent therapeutic services for which we are recognized."

The charity had restructured its staff into three, part-time members, and were 'indebted to the dedication of twenty trained volunteer counsellors and two group facilitators', she said.

"Thanks to our volunteers, throughout 2016 we helped 141 adult survivors of all forms of childhood abuse to improve their psychological well-being, develop self-confidence and increase skills for managing living."

Hurting to Healing has also introduced Skype counselling for clients unable to attend their premises, she said, but uptake for this service had been slow because the majority preferred face to face counselling.

"Currently, we have a small waiting list for our one-to-one counselling services and are recruiting additional volunteer counsellors who will be offered the Trauma and Abuse training course if successful at interview," she said.

She added that the charity also needed additional volunteer supervisors and are planning a training course in the Supervision of Abuse and Trauma Counsellors.