Dear Mr Lloyd,

I am writing to you as the local Member of Parliament for Manchester Central regarding the imminent closure of services at Mind in Manchester which is based within your constituency.

For 28 years Mind in Manchester has been a vital part of the community and a lifeline for people experiencing mental ill health in Manchester. Over the years Mind in Manchester have helped countless hundreds, even thousands of people with drop-ins, information services, listening and counselling services. In recent years Mind in Manchester have developed recovery-focused mentoring and socially inclusive services that have that have been so successful that they are currently over subscribed and have waiting lists over a year long.

More than 75% of all the people that Mind in Manchester work with are sent by statutory health and social care bodies. Many of them have some of the most complex and longstanding difficulties in a population that is recognised as having high levels of deprivation and poor mental health (including suicide).

However, despite the work that we do clearly being very effective, valued and in great demand, local statutory funders have not yet committed funds for services to remain open and they will close by May 2007.

Over the last three years alone more than 450 people have been supported and in the course of the next four months support will have to be withdrawn from around 120 people currently engaging with one to one services at Mind.

As MP for Manchester Central, I would like you to support Mind in Manchester by writing to Chris O’Gorman, Head of the Mental Health Joint Commissioning Team, at Mauldeth House, Manchester M21 9UN and asking him what he is going to do to ensure the future survival of the organisation and its work.

Yours sincerely,