Crisis service closes due to lack of funding

A Northern Ireland charity says it has had to close its crisis intervention service in Londonderry due to a lack of government funding.

Extern NI’s community crisis intervention service (CCIS) provided out-of-hours care for people in social or emotional crisis and was primarily funded through a Stormont mental health support fund, which expired earlier this year.

In a post on social media, the charity said it was “deeply saddened that we can no longer provide this support to our community.”

The Department of Health (DoH) said it faced a number of budgetary challenges adding there is currently a “funding gap of some £600m.”

“The minister greatly appreciates the services that have been offered through the community crisis intervention service,” the department said in a statement.

It added: “The work undertaken, and support provided through these services, have been of vital importance to those in the community who need it most and in supporting statutory services, in what remains a challenging environment.”

The department said the service had been funded for three years through the mental health support fund.

After that support expired in 2024, the department said, further non-recurrent funding was found to allow the service to continue to June of this year.

More than 3,000 people had used the crisis service over the last three-and-a-half years in the north west, Derry and Strabane SDLP councillor Brian Tierney told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

He said it’s closure was a “tragedy” that left people in crisis with “even less support.”

If you live in Northern Ireland, you can call Lifeline, a 24-hour helpline on 0808 808 8000.

You can also contact the Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

There is also a list of organisations that may be able to help at bbc.co.uk/actionline