About the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust is an independent philanthropic trust established by Helen Macpherson Schutt (née Smith) in 1951. On her passing in 1951, Helen left £275,000, the majority of her wealth, to establish a perpetual philanthropic trust to benefit Victorian charitable institutions. Launched as the Helen M. Schutt Trust, the name was changed to the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust in 2001 to acknowledge the Macpherson and Smith families as the prime source of her legacy.
Support for SANE
For the period 2020-2022, the Trust is supporting the 'SANE Assist' project which aims to increase organisational capacity to provide specialist, professional mental health support services for people affected by complex mental health issues, including those living in rural and regional areas via SANE's 1800 helpline, webchat, email, online forums and psycho-educational resources on sane.org.
Established in 1998, the SANE Help Centre is the only support service of its kind in Australia for people affected by complex mental health issues. One of the most unique aspects of the SANE Help Centre is that it is staffed by trained mental health professionals who not only care deeply about the work they do, but also have the specific professional expertise and wisdom to guide and support people on their journey with complex mental illness.