Walsall charity gets £20,000 to support victims

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Walsall charity gets £20,000 to support victims
Walsall Advertiser 22 Mar 10
Victims of rape and sexual violence in Walsall will be given continued help from a support group based in the town centre thanks to 'vital' funding from central government for Crisis Point, based in Lower Hall Lane...

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BBC News 19 Feb 03 Domestic violence: Intervening in crisis

Walsall mental health charity on the brink

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Walsall mental health charity on the brink
The YamYam 21 Mar 10
A Walsall charity which provides mental health support to isolated members of the community faces an uncertain future after being refused vital funding.

NHS Walsall has rejected a funding application from the Black Sisters Collective based in Wednesbury Road for a yearly £50,000 grant to provide one full-time and two part-time support workers. Unless alternative funding is secured in the next few weeks, the project is likely to face closure. Maureen Lewis, director of the collective, said: “We are very unhappy about this application for funds being turned down so late in the day. We now have two weeks to look to other sources or the service will close in April.

“We have been trying to negotiate with NHS Walsall for the last four years for a more long-term arrangement for the mental health project. We have been getting various pots of money from their commissioning team to help cover some of the work we do, but we want to get out of the cycle where every March we are saying to our service users we may be closing because of a lack of funding.

“We really don’t think £50,000 is a lot to ask.”

In January, it emerged that funding promised to the Black Sisters Collective under the government Supporting People grant had been allocated in error by Walsall Council and none of the £7million awarded to Walsall went to the group in spite of assurances that it would.

NHS Walsall blames “pressure” in the financial climate for the latest setback. A letter from Anet Baker, senior joint commissioning manager for NHS Walsall, told the charity: “The financial climate in both the local authority and NHS Walsall has been under increasing pressure over the last few years. Whilst it is appreciated that Walsall Black Sisters Collective provides a valuable and much needed service to the black and minority ethnic community it is with regret that I have to inform you funds to enable NHS Walsall to commission such a service, as described in your proposal, is not available.”

The YamYam 14 Jan Charities named in Walsall grants bungle
Express & Star 12 Jan Walsall Council in £357k grant mix-up
Walsall Council Supporting People
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Walsall Black Sisters Collective Home

New charity event for Midland’s gay clubbers

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New charity event for Midland’s gay clubbers
Lisa Rogers Pink Paper 17 Mar 10
A new event is being organised this month in the Midlands to raise money for Cancer Research UK and the HIV charity, AB Plus. Lee Pitchford from Walsall has organised coaches from 12 Midlands Cities, to take people into Birmingham for a night of clubbing...
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