Mental health and wellbeing charity Voices for All to close at end of April

Mental health and wellbeing charity Voices for All, formerly Rochdale Boroughwide User Forum (RBUF), will close at the end of April due to a lack of long-term funding.

Operations Manager Adrian Palmer said: “We have kept going for as long as we could, but with no forthcoming funding or possible grant applications to support our services, we had to make a final decision about the future of the charity.

“We have not been able to secure long-term funding, and we cannot deliver the services without staff.”

The charity would require approximately £70,000 a year to allow five members of staff to continue running its many services.

Some of Voices for All’s services will continue at alternative venues across the borough.

‘Colour Yourself Calm group’ will continue at The Brentwood Centre, 115 Long St, Middleton, M24 6DL, every Friday between 10am-12pm.

The ‘Art & Craft Group’ will continue every Tuesday from the 2nd April, 1pm-3pm, at Sparth Community Centre, Norman Rd, Rochdale, OL11 4HS.

The ‘Asian LGBT Group’ will continue on the last Tuesday of every month, 3pm-5pm, at Touchstones, The Esplanade, Rochdale, OL16 1AQ.

Over the past few weeks Voices for All has been informing members and service users of the decision to close, supporting or signposting people to other organisations who may be able to offer the help and support that people affected with poor mental health need.

Upon hearing the sad news, one service user emailed the charity to say: “Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to Voices for All. It’s another example, closing down, of anti-disabled sentiment.  A sad day for users. A sad day for carers and professionals alike.

“Where can we go now?”

The former RBUF was established in 2005 as part of Rochdale and District Mind.

It was set up to provide those affected with poor mental health a voice, to be able to challenge policy makers and those who design services around mental health.

RBUF became a charity in its own right in 2011, with volunteers becoming more involved in attending meetings so that service users had a direct influence on service provision and design.

In 2017, the board agreed to the name change of Voices for All, to be more reflective of the diverse communities that make up Rochdale and be inclusive of all people’s health and wellbeing needs.