Snowdrop Doula Community Interest Company in Burnley at risk of closure due to lack of funds

Michelle Bromley-Hesketh, a qualified Psychotherapist, founded the Snowdrop Doula Community Interest Company in 2014 following her battle with postnatal depression.

She has spent the past 10 years providing award-winning breastfeeding and mental health support to families across Burnley and Pendle. The CIC also funds doulas, who offer practical and emotional help during pregnancy, birth, and after the baby is born.

But rising costs and a lack of funding have forced Michelle to scale the organisation back. Since losing around £130,000 a year, she has closed the Burnley fundraising shop, and the doulas now work temporary hours.

"It's come to the point where the shop is not sustainable with the increasing cost of bills. I'm constantly worrying, 'Can I pay them?' I'm exhausted."

Some grants are only temporary, and applying for them can be competitive. Chasing funding takes time and energy away from running vital services.

Michelle adds that there are limited opportunities to obtain funding through the NHS or councils, but this long process does not always provide much money.

"I'm at the point now where I'm thinking hard about whether it's worth carrying on because of the energy it takes. It's a tough decision."

She worries about the impact of closure on vulnerable people.

"So many families wouldn't get the support they need. We've been told that our support has been vital. Families would suffer."

Before setting up Snowdrop Doula, Michelle volunteered as a breastfeeding peer support worker in the community and the hospital,

and studied for a degree in counselling and psychotherapy.

"I have been doing this for 20 years and still see the same issues... bad birth experiences, a lack of adequate NHS care in pregnancy and the postnatal period, trauma....and loneliness as a mum.

"There have been no structural or systemic changes. I'm finding that frustrating. It feels like a constant battle to make a change."

She believes small charities and CICs are invaluable as they see how issues impact vulnerable people and help deal with them head-on. Michelle calls for the Government to provide more financial support and for councils, the NHS, and other public health bodies to work more closely with them.

"Small charities and CICs know what they're doing. They are in the thick of it but are not always listened to. I feel the Government should do more to support small charities financially as that's where the expertise and real work lies."