A Liverpool=based charity that provides support to amputees and their carers is celebrating today after being awarded over £40,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Amputees and Carers Support in Liverpool (ACSIL) received over £40,000 for its Caring Communities project.
The project offers support to amputees, their carers and family members by providing them with useful services, a 24/7 helpline, equipment, and activities to improve physical and mental well-being.
Funding will enable the group to continue its support, offering activities to reduce isolation and loneliness among vulnerable people, many of whom are elderly.
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Peter Walthew, 65, the charity’s Treasurer, joined the group 11 years ago after operations to amputate both legs below the knee. The life-changing procedures made Peter feel depressed and closed off from his wife and primary carer, Theresa, who now also volunteers at the charity.
Peter told the ECHO : "Without the help of Acsil I don’t know what I would have done."
He added: "The help they provided got me through some very dark days. When I first met members of the group, they gave me a new lease of life.
"I met people in the charity and some had lost both of their legs completely. I said to my wife, ‘how lucky am I?’ because their circumstances were even more difficult than mine, and it was unbelievable how happy they were.
"It turned my life around, from that day I was a different person".
ACSIL was set up 16 years ago and has grown from strength to strength since a group of amputees got together to form the charity.
Support is given to members who number more than 250 including relatives and carers. They support ages from people in their 20s to World War Two veterans in their 90s.
They are based in the Breckfield Centre in the Everton area, where they hold a drop in service, and one-to-one sessions.
At weekly meetings on Wednesdays a light lunch and drinks is provided and they play bingo, games and do chair-based exercises.
Peter said: "This funding means so much to so many people. We get many phone calls from people looking for help and don’t know where to go. We can now continue to offer advice to them.”
Funding will pay for equipment to be stored in a container, provide new equipment for amputees, fund days out, help send out newsletters and pay rent.
Service user Bob Hodgson, 80, has been a member for about 15 years and lost a leg aged 55 after a bus ran him over.
Bob had to retire from being a removal man for 33 years and said: “My wife and children told me to keep going. I tried to get an office job, but was not qualified.
“Joining ACSIL is the best thing that could have happened, it's been like a family to me.”
Head of Funding for the North West at The National Lottery Community Fund, Gillian Halliwell said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this vital funding will have a huge impact on the lives of amputees, as well as their families and carers, across Merseyside."
Support is provided by outreach services visiting members at hospitals before and after amputation providing support and knowledge of where to go for someone to speak to and receive support.
For further information go to http://www.acsil.co.uk/home.html
