CHARITIES which help the homeless and people with mental health problems have been given a cash bonanza of more than £750,000 to support their sterling work.

The Homeless Action Resource Project, known as Harp, in Southend and Westcliff, will get a £500,000 boost over a five-year period from the Big Lottery Fund.

Meanwhile, the Southend Association of Voluntary Serv-ices, based in Alexandra Street, Southend, is to be given £253,224 by the fund.

Harp has a day centre in Valkyrie Road, Westcliff, and a night centre, offering emergency accommodation, in York Road, Southend. It receives about 20,000 visits each year.

The new funding will help pay for the charity’s Learning for Life programme, aimed at supporting people from homelessness into complete independence.

Gill Garwood, Harp’s chief executive, said she was delighted with the donation, which was given after the charity applied for funding.

She said: “Harp saves lives and this wonderful financial contribution to our organisation’s work will allow it to continue to help save lives for many years to come. Our staff, service users, management and trus-tees are immensely grateful to the fund for their response and consideration to our application.”

About half the homeless people Harp sees are aged between 16 and 30, and it helps up to 2,000 people a year to turn their lives around.

Savs will spend its money on supporting recovering mental health patients, or people with long-term problems, to become volunteers for various groups.

Alison Semmence, chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted our application has been successful.

“We will be able to provide the additional support some people with mental health problems need to enable them to participate in volunteering. It is a great way for people to feel part of the community, to gain work experience, to bring structure to their day and to rebuild their confidence and self-esteem.”

Sara Betsworth, head of the lottery fund in the east of England, said the charities were perfect examples of the projects it helps. She added: “The grants will bring about a range of benefits to some of Essex’s most needy people.”