A charity helping immigrants and refugees in east London who have been traumatised before arriving in Britain has landed funding to expand its mental health programme.

The money has been given to Causeway Irish Housing Association by the City Bridge Trust for a three-year programme helping newcomers to Tower Hamlets and neighbouring Hackney, Islington and Haringey to deal with grief and loss that can prevent integration.

“An important part of the programme is working with people on emotional wellbeing and managing difficult feelings,” Causeway’s Alan D’Arcy explained. “It aims to overcome anxiety and depression and get the most out of life in Britain.”

The charity provides temporary accommodation for young, single, homeless newcomers. Its new programme goes further by providing one-to-one support with a mental health specialist and helping tenants to use public health services.

So the charity set up a programme to deal with the issue and was praised for its work by the Bridge Trust, the fund-giving arm of the City of London Corporation.

Trust committee chair Alison Gowman said: “This project gives much-needed help to vulnerable people to integrate into society, with the Causeway charity’s excellent 30-year track record of supporting migrants and refugees.”

Half the Causeway charity’s tenants had reported experiencing mental ill health when arriving in this country, with the most common conditions being extreme anxiety linked to post traumatic stress and having