Community Care and Wellbeing Service (CCAWS) is a mental health charity based in Cardiff and consists of a team of volunteers who provide specialist support to the local community within South Wales. CCAWS is a new charity (registered 2018) building on the work of its predecessor, Ihasaan Social Support Association Wales (ISSA), which was set up by volunteers from the community to support people from the Black Asian Ethnic Minority (BAME) and Muslim communities by providing holistic support. A core group of individuals from ISSA consulted with volunteers, beneficiaries and stakeholders and the decision was made to start a charity which would focus on three main strands; Advocacy, Befriending and Counselling and consequently CCAWS was formed.  

CCAWS has been able to impact the community in the following ways;

• We have reduced isolation, provided emotional, psychological and spiritual support to those who are vulnerable and stigmatised in society
• The individuals become confident and feel empowered to deal with daily life pressures and stresses through counselling services 
• The individuals who come to us also feel safer in the communities they live in through improved communication and understanding
• We have reduced isolation through improved social networks
• We have recognised signs, symptoms and triggers within themselves, which we then have been able to prevent relapse through counselling and stress busting workshops. 
• We have massively increased the active participation and citizenships of clients who have come to us.