Jackie Wilkinson

The Lost and Forgotten

We used to have support
A place to go
No matter how we felt a safety net
It helped us rebuild our confidence
Helped get back into the community
Sort out all the forms
Build friendships, have hope
Learn some skills,
Earn some money and get back to work
But one day it was taken away.
We were deemed not sick enough
We weren’t a crisis.
Oh if we had a crisis then they would help.
Our GPs say “ no sorry we can’t help”
There is nothing there.
Sit outside Nero’s - we can all meet there!
Or we can try and run it ourselves
But no they won’t help or give funds
“No you can’t have the now empty building,
It’s too dangerous for our staff being with you
But you’re not sick enough for help.”
So we become the lost and the lonely
With no support just a limbo and a few more tablets
Keeping our heads above water day to day
As the poem says, “Not waving but drowning.”

 

Jackie is from the Newbury area, where the mental health drop-in centre has now closed. East Berkshire MIND has also wound up during the time of this project, and users of the Sunrise Centre in Slough are worried about the future of their centre.