Local band CHIL announce charity gig fto support life-saving 24/7 Edinburgh Crisis Centre

The team at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre are delighted to have fundraising support from local band CHIL who are planning a charity gig this month.

The life saving Crisis Centre supports around 2000 people across the city each year who are experiencing emotional distress and often thoughts of self harm or suicide.  The Crisis Centre is run by pioneering charity, Penumbra Mental Health.

The team operates 24/7 365 days a year and consists of volunteers who run groups and offer telephone support. Get them on Facebook.

The band members were motivated to do a charity gig for the Crisis Centre because of their own experiences, and they’re hoping the gig will raise awareness of the life-saving work of the Crisis Centre team.

The gig’s taking place on Sunday 11th December at the Leith Dockers Club and doors open at 3pm for a start of 4pm and finish of 8pm.

Nick Bell from the Crisis Centre said: “It’s always great to have this kind of support in the local community and we couldn’t be more grateful to Jack and the rest of CHIL for what they’re doing.

“The Crisis Centre has been in the city for 15 years and each year the number of people we support and who phone in for advice increases. It’s not an overstatement to say that the support our team offers people is life-saving on many occasions and we rely on volunteers who form a big part of our team.

“We’d love to see as many folk as possible at the gig and tickets can be booked by emailing ecc.volunteersgroups@penumbra.og.uk”.

CHIL band member, Jack Hunter said: “We think support for mental health is critical, especially in current times. The band members have experience of these kind of issues within their family and friends group.

“Some of us have worked in the social sector and were aware of the great work of the Edinburgh crisis centre. We hope the gig will raise the profile for the Crisis Centre work and a bit of funding to support this.”

Nicky’s 100-miler for Edinburgh Crisis Centre gets underway

The team at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre are cheering on one of their volunteers as she begins a running challenge during January. Nicky Braidwood from Edinburgh is aiming to run 100 miles in January to raise awareness of the Centre’s work.

Her fundraising page can be found here: https://bit.ly/38ISYKL

The Edinburgh Crisis Centre is managed by Penumbra on a daily basis and by a representative group involving Centre user representatives (supported by Advocard), NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council, and the Edinburgh Carers’ Council as part of an ongoing Public Social Partnership.

The Penumbra team at the Crisis Centre supports around 2000 people each year. The team at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre provides short term emotional and mental health support to people in the city aged 16 and over who are in distress or who are at risk of suicide and self-harm, and provides a safe and non-judgemental environment where people can talk in confidence.

People aged 16 and over living in Edinburgh can contact the Centre for support by email or freephone: crisis@edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk  – 0808 801 0414. The team also have a facebook page.

Penumbra is one of Scotland’s largest mental health charities supporting 1800 adults and young people each week across Scotland. In addition to grassroots support services, the charity also campaigns nationally to promote positive messages around mental health and works with government to improve mental health policies. The charity is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and is a partner in #UnitedToPreventSuicide.

Edinburgh Crisis Centre Assistant Manager, Nick Bell, commented: “We’re really lucky to have Nicky as our volunteer gardener here at the centre and we’re all cheering her on through her 100-miler.

“One of the things we hope that will come out of Nicky’s mammoth run is that it’ll get people talking and thinking about mental health and wellbeing. We also hope it’ll be a reminder to people that our team are here in the city and can offer support 24/7 to people aged 16 and over across Edinburgh free of charge by freephone or email.

“The pandemic has been daunting for everyone, and there’s a real risk that people already living with mental ill health could find themselves in distress. The pressures of dealing with isolation, financial worries, and other impacts of lockdown are potentially creating a perfect storm for people reaching crisis. We want people to know that even during lockdown, they can still contact us for support 24/7.”

Fundraiser Nicky Braidwood added: “My aim is to run 100 miles during the month of January to raise funds for this amazing place, which is close to my heart.  I am the volunteer gardener at the centre and I love what I do there.

“The Edinburgh Crisis Centre is a 24/7 service and supports about 2000 people each year so any amount raised would be massively appreciated, and it will spur me on to complete my challenge.

“I really hope that my fundraiser raises awareness around the importance of talking about mental health and suicide prevention, and to let people know that there is support out there in Edinburgh if you’re experiencing feelings of distress or reaching a point of crisis.”

Edinburgh Crisis Centre supports people in crisis 24/7 despite lockdown

Leading mental health charity, Penumbra, whose team manage the Edinburgh Crisis Centre are continuing to support people experiencing a mental health crisis despite lockdown.

The charity is doubling up on efforts to make sure people across Edinburgh know there is a 24/7 crisis service available to them during the pandemic.

The Edinburgh Crisis Centre is managed by Penumbra on a daily basis and by a representative group involving Centre user representatives (supported by Advocard), NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council, and the Edinburgh Carers’ Council as part of an ongoing Public Social Partnership.

The Penumbra team at the Crisis Centre supports around 2000 people each year.

People aged 16 and over living in Edinburgh can contact the Centre for support by email or freephone: crisis@edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk  – 0808 801 0414. The team also have a facebook page.

Penumbra is one of Scotland’s largest mental health charities supporting 1800 adults and young people each week across Scotland. In addition to grassroots support services, the charity also campaigns nationally to promote positive messages around mental health and works with government to improve mental health policies. 

The charity is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and is a partner in #UnitedToPreventSuicide.

Edinburgh Crisis Centre Manager, Barrie Hunter, commented: “Our team here at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre provides short term emotional and mental health support to people in the city who are in distress or who are at risk of suicide and self-harm, and we provide a safe and non-judgemental environment where people can talk in confidence.

“There’s constant demand for support from the Crisis Centre, and it’s not unusual that many of the calls that come in are from people who are extremely distressed and need support immediately.

“The pandemic has been daunting for everyone, but there’s a real risk that people already living with mental ill health could find themselves in real distress. The added pressures of dealing with the isolation, financial worries, and other impacts of lockdown are potentially creating a perfect storm for people reaching crisis.

“At any given time, 1 in 20 of us is experiencing thoughts of suicide. It remains a subject that we find difficult to talk about, but as a leading cause of death among young people and with men in their middle years particularly vulnerable, it’s vital that we open up. The one thing we can all do is talk openly about suicide and encourage conversations around mental wellbeing. 

“It’s important for people to know that even during lockdown they can still contact us for support 24/7.”

HELPLINE: 0808 801 0414

Sell out performance in support of the Edinburgh Crisis Centre

Leading mental health charity, Penumbra, hosted a sell out performance of ‘The Bench’, a play written and produced by Watch This Space Productions last week. Jay Lafferty of Watch This Space put on the special free showing of the performance in support of the work of the Edinburgh Crisis Centre which is managed by Penumbra.
 
Penumbra is a leading mental health charity providing a range of support services to around 1800 people each week. Penumbra works with partners across 17 local authority areas to provide innovative mental health support in a community setting.
The Edinburgh Crisis Centre is managed by Penumbra as a partnership with NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Carers’ Council, and supports around 2000 people each year.
People can contact the Centre for support by email, text or freephone: mailto:crisis@edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk – 07974 429075 – 0808 801 0414.
 
Watch This Space Productions’ performance of The Bench took place on Thursday in the Traverse Theatre.
 
Edinburgh Crisis Centre Manager, Barrie Hunter, commented: “Our team here at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre provides short term emotional and mental health support to around 2000 people in the city who are in distress or who are at risk of suicide and self-harm, and we provide a safe and non-judgemental environment where people can talk in confidence.
“There’s constant demand for support from the Crisis Centre, and it’s not unusual that we get several calls in the space of a few hours from people who are extremely distressed and need support immediately.
 
“It’s vital that people know they can ring up, text or email and get face to face support – potentially on the same day – and stay overnight if they need to. This is especially important because a mental health crisis is an extremely difficult thing to experience and key to recovery is early support.
 
“That’s why we’re so delighted that the hugely talented team at Watch This Space Productions have really got behind the work of the Edinburgh Crisis Centre in raising awareness of what we do through The Bench. The performance was a sell out and no wonder because of the talented team behind it.”
 
Jay Lafferty of Watch This Space Productions added: “We are delighted to be able to support Penumbra’s work. Since its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 ‘The Bench’ has been on a nationwide tour.
“In early 2019 the play was published by Josef Wineberger and is currently being translated into German and French. We are excited to be back in Edinburgh for this one off performance and feel that the topics addressed in the play fit well with the work undertaken by the Crisis Centre.”

Theatre performance to support Edinburgh Crisis Centre

Leading mental health charity, Penumbra, is delighted to announce that Watch This Space Productions are getting behind the work of the Edinburgh Crisis Centre by putting on an exclusive free performance of The Bench at the Traverse Theatre later this month (23 January).

Continue reading Theatre performance to support Edinburgh Crisis Centre