All Campaigns subcategories:
NHS keywords:
Mental health
Highlight keywords |
Print this article
From: The Socialist issue 917, 21 September 2016: #KeepCorbyn: Kick out the Tories and the Blairites
Search site for keywords: Sheffield - Mental health - Health - Council
Sheffield mental health services to lose council funding
Mental Health Action Group Sheffield (Click to enlarge)
Tim Jones, MHAGS founder and project coordinator, and Socialist Party member
"Why is it when we have a good day, only bad news follows? The good news is we had a great pool competition against St Wilfrid's Centre Sheffield and we won 3:2. The bad news shortly after was that we will no longer receive any funding from the council next year."
This was the reaction of Mental Health Action Group Sheffield (MHAGS) to learning that our £10,500 a year funding from Sheffield's Labour council will end on 31 March 2017. The day centre is used by 20 to 30 people every weekday, providing meals, activities and trips.
It is the only mental health user-led service in Sheffield and operates without any paid staff. If it closes, there is no similar alternative provision in the city and it will have disastrous consequences.
User-led
The 'Friends of MHAGS' campaign has been set up by service users and supporters to force the council to restore funding and keep this vital service.
I founded this vital user-led service back in 1992. We were a campaign group in the 1980s and we were responsible for winning mobility passes for the disabled. It was piloted in Sheffield and later became nationwide.
The reason why we became a day centre and later a charity in 1990 was that the last legislation Margaret Thatcher passed before she was ousted over the poll tax was the NHS in England becoming trusts. This meant psychiatric day centres closed down at an alarming rate.
The organisation was born out of a massive campaign to save Pitsmoor day centre. We had a small victory as we thought we came to a compromise - it would reduce its opening times to keep it open.
Constant attacks
Later they used the reduced staffing levels to justify reducing our grant support! We have been constantly under attack.
Our first premises in the town centre accepted 40 to 60 service users a day. Then Sheffield City Council announced it was selling off the premises for private housing developments. Subsequently they moved us to Shalesmoor which was a red-light area, which put off service users.
In 1997, when the council was in the process of redeveloping the Peace Gardens where our premises were, we staged an occupation highlighting the social cleansing policy that Sheffield City Council was implementing.
Eventually we were forced out and now our day centre is once again out of the city centre, reducing its accessibility to many service users. Even so, we will fight to win back our funding and keep MHAGS open.
Donate to the Socialist Party
Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
LATEST POSTS
12 May Stop Israeli state brutality
 |
9 May Post-election meetings
15 May Birmingham Socialist Party: How can we fight for socialist change and a new workers' party?
17 May Oxfordshire & Aylesbury Socialist Party: The role of the state
18 May Bristol North Socialist Party: Liverpool - history of socialist struggle
CONTACT US
Phone our national office on 020 8988 8777
Email: [email protected]
Locate your nearest Socialist Party branch Text your name and postcode to 07761 818 206
Regional Socialist Party organisers:
Eastern: 079 8202 1969
East Mids: 077 3797 8057
London: 075 4018 9052
North East: 078 4114 4890
North West 079 5437 6096
South West: 077 5979 6478
Southern: 078 3368 1910
Wales: 079 3539 1947
West Mids: 024 7655 5620
Yorkshire: 078 0983 9793
ABOUT US
ARCHIVE
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999