Helpline umbrella bodies merge

Governance | Kirsty Weakley | 28 Sep 2012

The Mental Health Helplines Partnership (MHHP) and the Helplines Association (THA) have merged to create a helpline umbrella organisation with a sustainable future.

THA approached MHHP in June to discuss the possibility of merger and this Wednesday (26 September) they merged formally after members of both organisations “voted overwhelmingly in favour of a merger”, said Theodore Syprou, chief executive of MHHP.

Spyrou (pictured) will be the chief executive of the new organisation, which willl be the largest membership organisation representing the sector. It will retain both brands and websites for the time being but “we will seek to harmonise these over the coming months”.

MHHP is the smaller of the two organisations with 55 members compared to THA which has more than 400. But THA approached MHHP after it ran into difficulty following the departure of senior members of staff and the loss of two core grants. MHHP had healthy reserves but was struggling to grow its income to match its expenditure. In 2011 THA's income was £618,588 and MHHP's was £111,844.

Speaking to civilsociety.co.uk Spyrou said: “This is very much a good news merger.” Adding that, he expected the new organisation to be “breaking even on turnover within a year and a half to two years”.

The only redundancy will be that of the chief executive of THA Rekha Wadhani, and Spyrou said he was “actually looking to recruit”.

In a joint statement the chair of THA, Peter Calderbank and chair of MPPH Liz Felton said: “THA and MHHP have had an excellent working relationship over many years. Several of the products we offer complement each other. A merged organisation will offer members easier access to an expanded range of services and enable the combined organisation to deliver them more effectively.”

Who's Who: Theodore Spyrou

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