A Highland charity has launched a new service to help people suffering mental health problems following recently call-outs to the Kessock Bridge due to concerns for people.
Centred, a Highland mental health charity, has raised concerns over the “worrying” increase in incidents at the Kessock Bridge, with three in the last three weeks.
Police were called to the bridge on August 24 and again on September 1 with the most recent on September 5, following reports of a “concern for a person”.
Following recent events, the cause and other local charities penned an open letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging investment into mental health support.
Mental health issues and the cost of living crisis are understood to be pushing people into desperate situations, which will likely worsen over winter.
That is why Centred has now announced the creation of a new recovery college, which will offer support, advice and guidance on mental health for Highland residents.
Led by the charity, in partnership with Highland Action on Mental Health Research (Hug), they aim to start delivering services in Caithness and Inverness by November.
David Brookfield, chief executive of Centred, revealed that within the last six weeks, they secured the necessary funding to deliver the service.
It will be known as the Discovery College, which Mr Brookfield said was due to its purpose of helping people suffering from mental health to find themselves again.
Development of the initiative began in 2017, then led by the NHS, however, it was dropped and Centred took the project on in 2019.
‘These incidents send ripples through community’
The aim is to operate a service in Caithness, working alongside other organisations such as Caithness Cares and Stepping Stones, with five peer support workers being recruited.
Mr Brookfield said the project was needed now more than ever following the incidents at the Kessock Bridge, which he described as “really concerning”.
He said: “I was very aware of what these incidents have done to the public’s perception because whichever way you look at it, it sends ripples through the community.
“There are two ways to look at it, either cynically where people should get on with things to the people who are really concerned about the lack of services out there for these people.”
While the Discovery College has been in the works for a while, Mr Brookfield did not want to publicise it until the funding had been secured.
Describing the service as a “step change” in the availability of services in the region the College will offer support to people on a wide range of issues from stress, anxiety and depression.
The two centres that will be delivering these services are Inverness Support Centre on Tomnahurich Street and Caithness Support Service at Wick Business Park.
Mr Brookfield said that the reason they wanted to bring this issue to the First Minister was the slow speed at which funding is made available.
He said: “The reason we wanted to bring this to the first minister’s attention is the speed of the funding process.
‘Prevention is a key priority’
“It’s taken us a long time, and we still don’t have any commitment from NHS or the Scottish Government to fund this going forward, even though it would beneficial to NHS services by taking pressure off them.
“You can see that events like the ones at the Kessock Bridge are ongoing, we need to get this moving as quickly as we can because things tend to grind extremely slowly when it comes to funding.”
In response to the call for more funding, the Scottish Government said that the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund has provided £36 million since 2021.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “Every suicide is a tragedy with a far-reaching impact on family, friends and communities.
“Prevention is a key priority, and we are working to reduce the rate of suicide in Scotland and ensuring those affected by it have access to the right support.
“We will publish a new long-term suicide prevention strategy and action plan in partnership with Cosla later this month to address the suicide prevention needs of the whole population.
“This approach will ensure our suicide prevention work is relevant for urban, rural, remote and island communities.”
Mr Brookfield hopes Discovery College, with the necessary funding, can reach out to those suffering from mental health and provide them with options at a time when they feel they have none.
Conversation