The immediate past Mayor of Neath Port Talbot, Cllr Dennis Keogh, raised a total of £16,073.78 for two local charities during his 2018/19 year of office.

Cllr Keogh chose to support mental health charity Hafal and the Friends of Ty Seren (Tomms Care), which works with young adults with Autism Spectrum Condition.

At the Mayor’s Parlour in Port Talbot’s Civic Centre on Thursday, August 22nd, Cllr Keogh presented each charity with a cheque of £8,036.89 (equally shared) to help their valuable work in the community.

Tomms Care director Carol Williams, accompanied by fellow director Marc Williams were on hand to collect the cheque for the Friends of Ty Seren charity while Hafal Swansea’s Director of People, Performance and Planning, Nia Murphy, received Hafal’s cheque.

Hafal Swansea helps people with serious mental illness and their families to work towards recovery. The charity’s Recovery Programme aims to empower clients to take control of their lives in order to achieve recovery.

Nia Murphy said: “This isn't just about medication or other therapies – the charity believes mental health is built on much broader foundations such as employment, relationships and home life. Hafal encourages people to take a ‘whole person’ approach in order to move forward.”

She added the inclusion of Hafal in Cllr Keogh’s Mayoral charities helped raise the profile of the organisation significantly in Neath and Port Talbot and she added the money raised would be used locally. particularly in developing services in the Taibach area.

Tomms Care, a family run business, provides day and domiciliary care at Ty Seren’s premises in Baglan where it offers bespoke care individually tailored to the needs of adults in its care. The money raised during Cllr Keogh’s mayoral year donated to Ty Seren will be used to establish a water play area for Ty Seren.

Carol Williams said: “Autism is associated with children and part of our role is to raise awareness of the fact many young adults have the condition too. Being associated with the mayor’s charities has helped, not only in bringing in much needed funds but in raising awareness.”

Cllr Keogh said: “Both I and my wife Christine are really pleased we helped raise around £16,000 for these very important charities. We are proud we could help people who do such a wonderful job for those with very challenging conditions.”