The charity has supported nearly 1,500 people in crisis over the past four years alone
Staff at Turning Point NI with Health Minister Mike Nesbitt
The team behind a mental health and crisis intervention hub in Co Antrim are worried it may be forced to close its doors unless sustainable government funding is secured.
Turning Point NI is based on Lower Mill Street in Ballymena and was founded in 2015. In the past four years alone, the charity has supported nearly 1,500 people in crisis.
Despite this, however, they do not receive direct funding from Stormont, instead relying on donations from the community and grants, including support from the National Lottery. In March, this three-year funding ran out, with Turning Point NI running on their reserves since then.
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They will find out in December whether they will receive another tranche of funding from the National Lottery. Speaking to Belfast Live this week, director Trudi Power said without urgent support, the charity’s ability to provide free life-saving support could come to an end within months.
She said: “Funding is difficult for every voluntary community and charity in Northern Ireland. We all know the challenge of bringing money in.
“We’re in a sort of hand to mouth existence at the minute. The question needs to be asked if voluntary and charity organisations who are providing a core frontline service are going to be left to fend for themselves.
“Should they not be on the scene anymore, who is going to pick up that slack? It’s certainly not going to be the NHS at this moment in time, and I think there needs to be a longer term strategy.
“If we don’t receive funding, where do those who use our service go? Where does the next young man or young woman go that’s in crisis, that’s been thinking about taking their own life? Nobody can give a coherent answer to that, and that’s where the problem lies.
“If the will was there to fund charities like ourselves that are carrying out statutory functions essentially, I believe it would happen. But the will needs to be there. There’s absolutely no doubt there are budgetary challenges, but it’s the priorities and allocating that budget that maybe needs to be called into question at times.”
Turning Point NI say their services are particularly vital in areas like Ballymena South, which ranks among the top 25% most deprived areas in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has higher suicide rates than any other part of the UK, with male suicides increasing over the past 30 years. The charity say these trends show the urgent need for early, community-based intervention.
“There is a huge demand locally, and we have roughly 50 people a week through the doors for a counselling session. Our waiting list for one to one counselling is at just over three figures at the moment,” Trudi said.
“There’s no stipulation or barrier to receiving the service, it’s completely free at point of use, you can self-refer so you don’t need to come through a GP or statutory agency.
“If you feel or your family feels that an individual’s in need of support, they can get it simply by lifting the phone or by accessing the self-referral tab on the on the website.
“Over the last four years, Turning Point has supported 1,476 people in crisis across the Northern Trust area. That’s people who are needing help to prevent harm. Many of our referrals come from statutory bodies, we’re essentially doing NHS work without the compensation.”
The team from The Barber Collective in Ballymena are raising funds for Turning Point NI
Local business The Barber Collective have teamed up with the charity this month for a Movember challenge to raise awareness of men’s mental health issues. In the past week, they have already raised over £600.
Trudi said the local community have always been a great support to Turning Point NI over the years. However, they can’t just rely on this support alone.
She said: “The Barber Collective have always been very supportive of us, as a number of the small local businesses around here have been.
“We do get a lot of support from our local community, people will take on challenges or drop in and give donations. But due to the nature of the work and the amount of work there is, it’s a substantial piece of funding we need to address.
“We’ve got a number of different funding streams, some of which we’ve been lucky enough to be able to avail of, but we are now in the stage of for long-term sustainability in the future – we need the big piece. That’s very much what our focus is.”
You can donate to The Barber Collective’s Movember challenge for Turning Point NI by clicking here, and find out more about the charity here.
Anyone who needs to talk to someone about mental health issues can call the Samaritans on 116123 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.
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