A Swadlincote group which provides vital care to around 200 adults suffering with mental health issues has been saved from the brink of closure - by a £465,000 National Lottery grant.
Organisers from Bank House, in Alexandra Road, Swadlincote, have revealed the group was potentially just one month away from shutting down due to funding cuts.
The group was formerly funded by Derbyshire County Council and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group, through the NHS, receiving around £120,000 a year.
But, since the end of March, 2017, both funds were halted due to cuts and a restructure to award the county's contract for mental health to an organisation called Rethink Mental Illness.
Denise Shillabeer, 56, former manager and currently support worker of Bank House, which is used by 200 members each month, said: "The county council decided at that point that they no longer believed in buildings-based services and as we are very much a building-based service we didn’t fit their remit anymore.
"So they stopped our funding. For just a couple of weeks short of a full year we've had no statutory funding whatsoever.
"The end of March, 2017 was the last time we had funding from the county council or the NHS, so for just about a year, we've survived on our reserves and the support of the community, individuals and businesses.
"It's been a struggle, but while we've been surviving on that money we've been putting together the lottery bid and just a few weeks ago we got news that we'd been successful to the tune of £465,000."
The funding has been given to the group by the Big Lottery Fund, which hands out lump sums of money to projects to aid the community and people in need.
All money raised comes from the sale of national lottery tickets, with 56p of every £2 spent going to distribution.
Asked how long she believed Bank House could have continued operating without the aid, Ms Shillabeer said: "In all honestly, about another month.
"We were told at the end of January that we had got the money. We didn't know how long we'd exist up to then, wondering would we get enough donations to pay the rent and the phone bill, and the gas bill this month.
"We're a charity, we couldn't let the bank account go into the red, it's just not allowed.
"Really, without that lottery decision coming in when it did, this month would've been a wind-down to closure month."
From Thursday, March 1, Bank House will be relaunching under a different title and will now be called the Bank House Community Hub. A new manager will also be put in place, 33-year-old Jon Shill.
Mr Shill said he, along with the other workers at the group, were so overjoyed when the funding came through that they shed 'tears of joy'.
He said: "We worked so hard, and fought constantly to be able to be here for this long, but it really made all of the hard work worth it, being able to tell the service-users, who had been as worried as we were about their future and the service they provide.
"They were totally aware, we kept them up to date. They obviously knew when we had to change our opening times, and when we made some redundancies to make the money last up until this point.
"The service has been slightly limited in the last 12 months to ensure our survival basically."
The limitations saw three full-time workers made redundant, leaving just four members of staff working alongside volunteers to lead the services.
However, following the donation from the Big Lottery Fund, the service will now open its doors to anybody, not exclusively those with mental health issues.
Staff made redundant will be considered for a return, with different jobs being advertised to those that were lost. Organisers have also confirmed that the money will pay for rent, wages, gas, electric and the phone bill of the group and should keep it going for the next three years.
Ms Shillabeer continued: "We really mustn't take our foot off the gas.
"This lottery money is for three years, we mustn't be complacent now. We've got to use these three years to investigate every possible avenue and to ensure long-term funding.
"We don't really know where to look for that at the moment. The council hasn't got any money, the NHS hasn't got any money but at least it's given us time to stop and think what we’re going to do in three years' time. Hopefully we can secure our long-term future."
Bank House ensures all those who use their services are fed and have warm clothing.
Feeling charitable
Staff help, advise and signpost a range of issues, including budgeting, housing and jobs.
Ms Shillabeer thanked all those who helped the group receive the money. "A big thank-you to the lottery fund and everybody who buys a ticket, whether it is every week, every three weeks or just now and again.
"It's their money, the people who play the lottery, and they are now funding Bank House and we want to thank each and every one of them."
Anybody interesting in donating to Bank House to help support future services and schemes can do so by emailing contact@bankhouse.co.uk or by calling 01283 222881.
Donations can also be made on a dedicated website online at https://localgiving.org/charity/bankhouse/ .
