A Dudley drop-in centre for people with mental health problems is to close by the summer after being hit by council cut backs.
Dove House, which is run by mental health charity Dudley Mind with funds from Dudley Council, offers support and social contact to people with severe mental health issues across the borough.
The charity, which has been supporting people in Dudley since the 1970s, is currently going through a bidding process to determine whether it can continue to provide services across the borough for people battling mental illness but as part of any revised contract – whether it is awarded to Dudley Mind or another organisation – there is reportedly no funding available for Dove House.
People who attend the facility, which is open for people to drop-in five days a week, have described it as a “lifeline” and they fear its loss will leave some of the most vulnerable members of the community more isolated than they already are.
The centre, located on the Bushey Fields Hospital site for psychiatric patients, operates with two members of staff and provides mostly social support – “helping people who might otherwise be isolated to get together with others,” Martin Mueller, chief executive of Dudley Mind said.
He added: “It also offers assistance when people have a bit of a crisis – when they have an unforeseen incident.”
Around 60 people use the centre, some more regularly than others, which has been open for about 12 years and which is expected to shut its doors by June 30.
Under a cost-cutting shake-up of services funded by Dudley Council – a single contract is to be awarded to cover mental health and learning disabilities/difficulties – offering a £700,000 budget – but that figure is reportedly less than half the amount currently devoted to the service.
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