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Edinburgh Live
a day ago
- Health
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh woman 'terrified' of losing what 'gives her something to live for'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An Edinburgh charity may see several programmes that serve the capital's most vulnerable demographics slashed as funding cuts loom closer. CAPS is one of the charities looking down the barrel of extensive funding cuts from the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board (EIJB), which announced its intention to make £2.2 million in cuts to social care charities. Edinburgh Live reported in May on delays to the funding cuts after Edinburgh mental health charities raised the alarm on the impact cuts would have on "lifeline" services. We also brought you stories from service users whose lives changed after gaining access to critical services at CAPS. However, this week the charity was informed of the final recommendation from the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (EHSCP), who is asking the EIJB to vote to discontinue three CAPS projects. These services - the Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition, Collective Advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people, and Collective Advocacy for minority ethnic communities - will be discontinued in November if the recommendation is carried later this month. CAPS offers individual and collective advocacy, providing safe spaces to explore shared issues. It has groups for those suffering from trauma, psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorders, and for LGBTQ and minority ethnic individuals. In recent years, collective advocacy groups have delivered training to Edinburgh nurses for working sensitively with LGBTQ and minority ethnic patients. Edinburgh Live spoke to Lauren Stonebanks, a service user who is heavily involved in all three of the CAPS programmes slated for the axe. She said the cuts to LGTBQIA+ and minority ethnic services will "remove the voices of already marginalised people. These are both protected characteristics. "All the antagonism towards queer and minority ethnic people is getting worse and worse. They're removing something that helps people understand what we go through." Lauren, 45, has autism and ADHD and dropped out of medical school in 2002 when her mental health "deteriorated". She has been involved with CAPS since 2011. "It's a really scary time at the moment. Myself and others have experienced queerphobic and racist abuse and that seems to be getting worse again," she added. "[CAPS training] was making a dent in negative attitudes. We were having an impact, especially when we were talking to students. "People always say they never would have know all this stuff if it wasn't for the CAPS training. All of that is going to be lost, the resources and learning are going to be gone. "People fear what they don't know and understand but when they learn about it, they realise we are just like you but a little different here and there." The Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition is the largest art exhibition in Scotland showcasing art from people with mental health issues. The fate of the exhibition, which shows every year in Summerhall, also hangs in the balance. Lauren added: "The one thing that's most important [to me] is the exhibition, which [may be] cut. It's an Edinburgh institution, really. "It's given me something to look forward to, something to live for, something that actually makes a difference and gives me a sense of accomplishment. "I'm terrified of losing something that keeps me well and gives me something to live for." Lauren hopes that even if the EIJB moves forward with the cuts, CAPS can manage to hold on to the critical services. She added: "I'm hoping that something can be done that will save these projects and they will see there is value in all of them and find a way to keep them. "All the work we've put in the past years - it feels like it was for nothing." The EIJB's final vote for funding allocation is being held on August 26. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Councillor Tim Pogson, Chair of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (IJB), said: "The IJB funds a range of services through block contracts and service level agreements. Officers have recently completed an extensive review of all of this spend to ensure that we are investing our limited resources in the most effective way. A report with recommendations for future funding arrangements will be considered by the IJB on 26 August. "We recognise the contribution that our third sector providers make and the concern this review may have caused. Unfortunately, the level of funding Edinburgh's IJB receives has not kept pace with the increased demand and cost for our services. This means that difficult decisions have to be made in order to protect the essential support we provide for some of Edinburgh's most vulnerable people. "This review will help us to focus scarce resources on providing core, statutory services which help keep the people who most need our help safe and well cared for, while allowing our partners to meet their legal duties.'
Scotsman
29-05-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
This charity has changed my life - when I was told about the cuts I just cried and cried
Funding cuts which force the closure of mental health projects in Edinburgh will result in more self-harming and suicide attempts, members of one of the affected groups have warned. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Independent advocacy charity CAPS runs a number of projects in Edinburgh which are under threat from the cuts planned by the city's Integration Joint Board (IJB) which oversees health and social care in the Capital. Laren Stonebanks, 45, is involved with several of the CAPS projects, but particularly the Out of Sight Out of Mind art exhibition held at Summerhall every October, showing works by people with experience of mental health issues. Lauren Stonebanks says she "just cried and cried" when she was told of the cuts | TSPL Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "It's Scotland's largest mental health-based art exhibition," said Lauren. "It's one of the Summerhall staples and it's just buzzing when we're in there." There were over 300 exhibitors last year and over 1,900 people saw it. "People get so much from it. Visitors learn things about loved ones who might have a particular condition, not just from artwork made by their loved one but artwork by someone else who has that condition and they think 'I never thought about it that way'." Lauren started out as a medical student but her mental health deteriorated. "I went through many diagnoses - depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, then in 2011 they landed me with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and told me there was nothing else they could do. They gave me six weeks of psychotherapy and some leaflets and sent me on my way." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But one of the leaflets was about a two-day training course by CAPS on BPD and that began her involvement with the charity. "It's changed my life, it's given me so much confidence and self-esteem, I've made so many friends. When I was told about the cuts I just cried and cried. "I'm involved in about five different groups but if these cuts go ahead all of them would close - all that would just be gone, I'd become much more isolated. "It's hard to get me out of the house to go and do things because it's outside my comfort zone. The exhibition is the most social I am all year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "I used to have problems with self-harm - looking back at Facebook memories I can see how unwell I was in the past and you can also see as time goes on, as I get more involved in CAPS, those kinds of posts decrease." Jacob Moody says the cuts will mean an increase in self-harming and suicide attempts | TSPL Jacob Moody, 28, also believes CAPS has helped change his life. He grew up in Edinburgh and went to St Andrews University where he studied maths. "I moved back to Edinburgh in 2020 and during that time I was in intensive care in the Royal Infirmary five times and in the renal high dependency unit once and also had close to 1,000 stitches in A&E, mostly due to self-harm and overdoses. "But the last intensive care admission was a month before I joined CAPS. Since joining CAPS I've had no A&E admissions for self-harm, no intensive care admissions, no anything. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "CAPS has given me the opportunity to have my voice heard, the opportunity to meet people who have had similar experiences. "If this ended I feel I would slip back into that self-harming, overdosing habit that I was in. I worry it would just ruin me. "If it goes, I think it will lead to a lot of people throughout NHS Lothian getting worse. It's going to lead to self-harm and suicide attempts and it's going to cost NHS Lothian money." Jacob is involved in CAPS' group for people who have been diagnosed with personality disorders and he helps to train hospital workers on the issues for people with mental health problems. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "These workshops are the recommended learning tool by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for NHS Lothian. There's currently no healthcare for people with personality disorder in NHS Lothian. "Without our sort of training, they wouldn't have any training on these issues from people's lived experience, they would just have their text book training." He said some people claim people with personality disorders cannot be helped. But he said: "We can be helped. This group helped me into employment, it stopped me self-harming and overdosing and provided training for people - it's a positive for me and a positive for other people. "CAPS is listed in my care plan as one of the places I should attend regularly to get better and it's listed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for training for NHS Lothian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "The IJB are cutting this while the NHS is still relying on it - it doesn't make sense." Charlotte Mitchell says she will be devastated if the cuts go ahead | TSPL Charlotte Mitchell, 80, is involved in several CAPs groups, including one on psychosis which runs workshops for students and others, and two others designed to ensure decision makers hear their views on mental health services. She said: "Our Lothian Voices group runs a conference every year. We did one on housing and mental health in 2023 and we took the results to the minister and he came and visited us. "And Edinburgh Voices is currently running a survey on drop-in services because a lot of drop-ins have closed and we feel very strongly about that." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But she said all the groups would stop if the cuts go ahead. "I would be devastated," she said. The total cuts proposed by the IJB add up to £29 million. A final decision was due to be made at its next meeting on June 17, but that has now been postponed until August 26 to 'ensure that recommendations are robust and evidence-based'.
