“Everyone deserves a chance to heal” is a motto Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Revive adheres to in their mission to make health and wellness accessible to every individual regardless of socio-economic circumstances.
The NPO provides free wellness screenings, trauma support and emotional resilience workshops to underprivileged communities in Gqeberha and surrounding areas.
With an active need for mental health support in schools and communities, the NPO is hoping to reach more schools, corporate offices and communities during Mental Health Awareness Month this October.
Revive, formerly known as Lifeline SA, a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) in Gqeberha has been serving the community since March 1977.
Director of the NPO, Astrid Thomas, shared how the organisation has evolved since it opened its doors to the community. “We have been around for many years and our focus is mental health.”
In 2014, the NPO rebranded to Revive – Empowering Emotional Change – to better address the evolving emotional wellness needs of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The name change marked a shift from reactive crisis intervention to proactive emotional wellness and psychoeducational outreach,” Thomas shared. “Revive now focuses on grassroots-level support, aiming to prevent social ills such as domestic violence and substance abuse before they escalate.”
Their outreach programmes include trauma and resilience workshops at schools, supportive parenting programmes and awareness programmes aimed at preventing substance abuse, gender-based violence and suicide.
“Post-COVID, Revive saw a surge in counselling requests due to increased psychosocial distress,” Thomas shared. “The pandemic highlighted the importance of mental health support in homes, schools and workplaces, reinforcing the need for accessible emotional wellness services.”
Revive provides no-fee counselling services for individuals and community members (both in-person and virtual sessions), no-fee community awareness programmes, no-fee emotional wellness workshops and no-fee psychoeducational programmes.
According to Thomas, schools are actively reaching out to Revive for support. “This demonstrates a strong interest from schools in building emotional support systems and partnering with Revive to address mental health challenges among learners,” she commented.
“Revive works with schools to address urgent emotional needs and is training teachers as lay counsellors to act as ’emotional paramedics’. This initiative strengthens emotional support structures within schools.”
To provide free support to schools and communities, however, fundraising and financial support are vital.
“Unfortunately, local business support is limited. While Revive offers comprehensive and affordable Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), many companies prefer working with larger national providers who then subcontract Revive to deliver services locally,” she shared. “This indirect engagement means Revive receives minimal direct support from local businesses, despite offering full Occupational Health and Wellness services.”
How can local businesses and individuals support Revive?
• Use Revive’s EAP services to support employee wellness.
• Make financial donations and receive a Section 18A tax certificate.
• Sponsor a beneficiary and receive an SED certificate (Revive is Level 1 B-BBEE).
• Join the MySchool programme and list Revive as a beneficiary.
• Donate time or expertise – legal professionals, psychologists, social workers, and counsellors are especially needed.
• Attend Revive’s courses and workshops.
• Support Revive’s Back a Buddy campaign www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/revive-empowering-emotional-change
For more info, contact Revive via WhatsApp: 081 710 1741 or Email: [email protected]
You must be logged in to post a comment.