By james art A Durham mental health charity says a £2,000 grant will help them meet “rapidly increasing demand”.
St Margaret’s Centre, which uses the arts to support the wellbeing of local people, has seen a 220 per cent increase in demand over the past two years.
The centre, located on Marjory Lane, Durham City, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people in County Durham by providing them with a safe, therapeutic environment to regain their confidence, motivation and self-esteem.
It hosts a range of therapeutic activities including carpentry, joinery, arts and crafts and gardening.
A £2,000 grant from the Banks Community Fund will help cover the materials and training costs for the arts and crafts sessions at the centre.
Lisa Harrison, deputy manager at St Margaret’s Centre, said: “We try to keep a maximum of two weeks waiting between someone coming into contact with us and them being able to access sessions, which means we are often this person’s first meaningful interaction with community support for their mental health needs and that demand for places for our sessions is always high.
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“We’ve seen people who previously haven’t left their homes for months or even years rebuild their self-esteem, develop new confidence and discover incredible talents they never knew they had.
“Maintaining our running costs in the face of such rapidly increasing demand is always a real challenge, so we are extremely grateful for Banks’ support in helping us meet it.”
The center has over 300 people who currently have active referrals for its services, and about one-sixth of those people have a diagnosis of autism.
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at Banks Group, said: “The team at St Margaret’s are making a positive difference to the lives of hundreds of people in our home county at times when they need it most.
“Seeing both the creative and personal results they help achieve shows just how effective their work is and we’re very pleased to be supporting such an impactful charity.”