Mental Health
Walsall mental health charity on the brink
21 Mar 10 03:37 Filed in: News | News-Walsall
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
Supporting People Home
Walsall Black Sisters Collective Home