Disabled service users lose 'lifeline' in closure

A charity helping disabled people which is due to shut down over funding issues has said service users are "losing a lifeline".

Trustee Marion Fitzgerald, 66, said Allerdale Disability Association (ADA), based in Workington, Cumbria, had to close after it was promised private funding which did not materialise.

Ms Fitzgerald said there was no other service like it in Workington or the wider area and it came at a time when the charity was seeing a "big increase in demand".

Service user Nick Wilson, who lives with complex learning difficulties, said ADA was "vital" for him and the closure "stopped him in his tracks".

The charity, which was established in 1976, provides a two-fold service, helping disabled people with forms needed for the benefit system and a social hub, where users come for gatherings.

Ms Fitzgerald said the lack of promised funding, which could have kept the facility open for more than a year, meant the charity could not pay its staff.

"We do use a lot of volunteers who do an excellent job but there are staff members affected," she added.

Mr Wilson told BBC Radio Cumbria the charity's help was "vital" for him.

"I was told it had closed when I really needed their help."

He said ADA was assisting him with a tribunal for personal independence payments, by filling out forms.

Mr Wilson's fiancee, Kelly Stuart, said she was "absolutely devastated".

"There isn't going to be any other service in West Cumbria that could offer the level of expertise that ADA can do without going towards solicitors," she said.

"We now have to find money to pay for solicitors to help Nick."

Ms Stuart has started a fundraising page to help the charity.

Ms Fitzgerald said: "Our clients require a lot of support - I think many service users would not leave the house if it wasn't for our social gatherings.

"If ADA was going to leave a legacy, it is the friendships that have been forged by our get-togethers."

The charity does not yet have a closure date and said it was exploring "every possible avenue to remain open".

"Our clients are so upset about this and reluctant to see this close - it is a lifeline."

ADA said it was "very grateful" for a £10,000 grant from Cumberland Council, but said it was not enough to support its budget.

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