Last week we heard that Leeds Crisis Centre was in imminent danger of closing.
We have never thought of ourselves as campaigners before, but we are people who have personal cause to value the Crisis Centre and we felt that something needed to be done. If we hadn't heard about it, we were sure that lots of others hadn't either so we decided to think about how we could raise awareness.
The centre is unique, because it can offer you support straight away. Anyone who has suffered sudden or unbearable mental distress will tell you that waiting is not necessarily an option.
A service user who emailed their story to our site says:
"Thank God I went to the Leeds Crisis Centre first. I was astonished by the swiftness and effectiveness of their assistance.
"I had an initial phone call that was followed up within less than a day by another phone call, offering me counselling".
"The waiting list to see a counsellor or psychiatrist can be up to a year and with hand on heart without the intervention of the crisis centre I dont think I would be here to tell my story... It absolutely terrifies me that maybe a few months down the line there maybe somebody like me but then who do they have to turn to?"
Importance of service
Reading the council papers we were shocked that councillors were apparently happy to close a 20-year-old service and put experienced professionals out of work, without going to the trouble of consulting with people who used or referred to the service.
They didn't understand the value of the service and didn't appear to be interested in finding out. There was no other cost-cutting option on the table apart from closure. The service has a large building in a nice part of Headingley – why not move the service and sell the building, for instance?
This cut, if it happens (the council meeting is on 11 February), will be the first of many.
The more we looked, the more we found that other mental health services were facing cuts or closure. Everyone knows there will be cuts. You may even agree that they are necessary.
The message from the council has consistently been that the service isn't one of their legal duties and is duplicated elsewhere. In these days of localism, it is worrying that the council is suggesting it will close anything that it is not legally obliged to provide.
'NHS emergency services creaking'
That suggests that we will be left with NHS emergency services creaking as they try to pick up the pieces. With the help of people who have sent information into the website, we have set out why there is no duplication. The services which it is said will pick up the pieces are either not counselling services, have long waiting lists, or actually refer their most vulnerable clients to the Crisis Centre!
Will the campaign work? We have until February 11th to make it work, or lose an irreplaceable service. Does the council really think there are going to be fewer ordinary people in crisis in the difficult months to come?
Email: saveleedscrisiscentre@gmail.com; Twitter: @saveleedscrisis
This post has been written by the Save Leeds Crisis campaign team. Team members have asked to remain anonymous as they are either relatives of service users or have used and valued the service and who do not wish to be named for fear of reprisals.
Should Leeds Crisis Centre stay open? Have your say in the comments section below.
