A young people's counselling charity has said it wants to reach more people, but with money how it is, things are becoming more difficult for it to run - that is where you come in.

This is the final week readers can collect tokens for Cash for Charities, an initiative where they can nominate local charities to receive a share of £16,000.

Footsteps, a charity based in Woodbridge, provides counselling for young people suffering from mental health problems.

East Anglian Daily Times:

Jo Ashton, manager and counsellor at Footsteps said: "Money helps us continue the work we do.

"It'll help us to see more young people and expand what we do.

"Things are now becoming more difficult now, and we are reliant on grants and fundraising to fund the work that we do more and more.

"Any money that can help us to do the vital work that we do, is great."

East Anglian Daily Times: Footsteps - Walking with you, helps young people and families deal with mental health problemsFootsteps - Walking with you, helps young people and families deal with mental health problems (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Footsteps became a charity in 2018, after realising that young people in Suffolk's mental health provisions were "non-existent".

Ms Ashton continued: "There's one in seven 10 to 19-year-olds experiencing mental health issues.

"The provision for young people's mental health in South East England is really, really low.

"We want to help as many people as we can.

"We provide a space where they can have someone listening to them and validating them, and that can make such a huge difference to their lives.

East Anglian Daily Times: Footsteps' Jo Ashton and Christine PinderFootsteps' Jo Ashton and Christine Pinder (Image: Charlotte Bond)

"We help support the families as well, we see that in helping even just one young person you see the ripple effects around the family.

"We believe that early intervention will also help them and equip them for potentially, the rest of their lives."

The charity has also started working with local colleges, providing walk-and-talk therapy with students.

Ms Ashton continued: "We are really, really grateful to those that voted for us and put us forward.

"We are also really grateful that things like this, not only help us financially but also give us an opportunity for young people to see that we're out there so they can come and get the help that they need."

East Anglian Daily Times: Footsteps has been operating since 2018, helping many young peopleFootsteps has been operating since 2018, helping many young people (Image: Charlotte Bond)