New mental health charity Unida to host launch day fete in Waterlooville

A MENTAL health charity supporting parents and children is hosting a launch day in Waterlooville that will see stalls, rides and animals raise funds.
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A launch day for a new and locally established charity, Unida, will take place on Saturday, July 30 from 11am until 3pm at Padnell Park, in Waterlooville.

Dance acts, bouncy castles, rides, animals, a raffle and food and drink stalls will be just some of the entertainment available at the fete.

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Unida became a registered charity in November 2021 and will offer support, both practical and emotional, to families who have children with special educational needs and mental health issues.

Mental health charity, Unida, supporting parents and children is hosting a launch day in Waterlooville that will see stalls, rides and animals raise funds.Mental health charity, Unida, supporting parents and children is hosting a launch day in Waterlooville that will see stalls, rides and animals raise funds.
Mental health charity, Unida, supporting parents and children is hosting a launch day in Waterlooville that will see stalls, rides and animals raise funds.

Founders of the charity Emma Osuch, 31, and Kirsty Selfe, 34, noticed a ‘real’ need for parental support after meeting through a shared friend and realising their sons, Liam and Keegan, had similar conditions.

Emma said: ‘We’ve both got boys with autism, ADHD, and one has emotional dysregulation disorder.

‘It can be quite lonely, we were soon to realise that there’s actually nothing out there for parents other than CAHMS [Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services].’

Unida launch event poster designed by Hampshire Design StudiosUnida launch event poster designed by Hampshire Design Studios
Unida launch event poster designed by Hampshire Design Studios
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With funding at an all time low for mental health charities, they were soon put on long waiting lists and decided to take matters into their own hands.

‘It’s just become really difficult, we thought we can’t keep watching these parents struggle on their own, so we decided to create Unida,’ added Emma.

The friends will be running a ‘non-judgemental’ coffee morning for parents to talk and share advice once a week, on a Tuesday, in Waterlooville.

Kirsty said: ‘Sometimes you need to talk to another parent, it’s not always about going on a course, you just want to sit with another mum and say ‘I’m finding’ this really hard today.’

Founders of Unida Kirsty Selfe and Emma Osuch.Founders of Unida Kirsty Selfe and Emma Osuch.
Founders of Unida Kirsty Selfe and Emma Osuch.
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‘You find when you’ve got someone going through a similar thing, they just get it.’

The pair, hosting the launch to drum up funding for their newly established charity, have had a ‘huge’ outpouring of support from the local community, including businesses such as Hampshire Design Studios, Fernwood B&B and Havant MP Alan Mak.

Once the charity gets on its feet, Emma and Kirsty hope to involve the children as much as possible, hosting days out and activities for the family such as circus training and horse-riding.

Visit facebook.com/unidacharity/ to find out more.