Twenty years ago a new centre began welcoming people with mental health problems. Health Editor Barry Nelson finds out who it’s helping today.

WHEN doctors told Andy he probably had cancer, he admits he took it very badly.

The former technician, who had worked for the same North-East organisation for 20 years, hit the bottle with a vengeance.

The diagnosis – which turned out to be a false alarm – sent him on a spiral into alcoholism and depression.

Depression is a condition which affects about one in four of us at some time in our lives but few people realise it is categorised as a form of mental illness.

It was the combination of his depression and heavy drinking which led to Andy going completely off the rails, losing his job and ending up on a hospital detoxification ward.

The detox worked – for a while – but pretty soon he was back on the bottle and back in hospital, the kind of ‘revolving door’ patient familiar to health and social workers.

That was when he was thrown a lifeline, which has helped hundreds of other people like him. The mental health nurse supporting Andy at the time suggested he might try enrolling on a course at the Waddington Street Centre in Durham City. “She asked me what I was interested in, I wasn’t really thinking straight at the time, but I said I would have a go at a basic cookery course,” recalls Andy.

At the time Andy knew absolutely nothing about the centre. Three years on, after successfully overcoming his mental health and alcohol problems, Andy is one of the centre’s biggest fans.

“It is an absolutely brilliant place.

The only trouble is that there aren’t more places like it in the North-East,”

says Andy, who not only completed several courses but went on to become a voluntary worker, helping others trying to overcome mental health problems by acquiring new skills and building up their self-esteem.

CURRENTLY, around 160 people with mental health problems regularly use the Waddington Street Centre, which has steadily grown in size and scope since a group of volunteers from the Waddington Street United Reformed Church threw open the doors of the church hall to provide people recovering from mental health problems with a safe and secure place to meet.

That was in 1981 and within a short period of time the idea of providing a sanctuary was transformed into something more ambitious, offering a range of educational and training courses. Because of links between the church and local educationalists, the courses are usually provided by tutors from New College, Durham.

From those small beginnings the Waddington Street project has continued to thrive and expand, and this week Andy – and many other current and past users and staff – have been taking part in celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the project acquiring its own premises, next door to the church.

The substantial Victorian terraced house, renovated with help from the local health authority, soon became too cramped to meet the growing demand.

So, in 1994, the adjoining house was purchased to provide space for a modern resource centre with facilities for education, computer training, arts and craftwork and a drop-in centre which could be open in the evenings.

Within a few years, funding from the National Lotteries Charity Board was used to remodel and extend both houses to provide even more space.

The centre now operates five days a week offering social day care and support, as well as a wide range of educational courses, including life skills, personal development, healthy lifestyles, life-long learning and arts and crafts.

In recent years, the local NHS provided funds to develop a small print shop on the premises which allows clients to develop skills in digital photography, graphic design and desktop publishing.

Manager Steve Wakefield, who was a bank manager in a previous incarnation, says he absolutely loves the centre he has run since February 2007. “For many people crossing the threshold for the first time is the hardest thing they will do,” says Steve.

Because of the continuing stigma around mental health, some users find the experience pretty daunting.

But once they arrive, Steve says they are assured of a warm and friendly reception.

“New arrivals get a lot of peer support and sympathy from our clients,” says Steve.

But the really important process that begins when people sign up for courses is the return to normal life.

“What we provide here needs to be a stepping stone to something else, to help people get back into education, a job or whatever they want to do,” he adds.

The link with New College is still incredibly important to the centre, with tutors from the nearby college delivering more than 20 courses per week during term time.

In the past year the centre has also started offering courses in Mental Health First Aid. Designed by the National Institute for Mental Health England and the Care Services Improvement Partnership, it aims to teach skills to employers to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or is experiencing a mental health crisis.

Places at the centre are largely reserved for people living in Durham City and Chester-le-Street, but there are a smaller number of places for people from other parts of County Durham.

THE centre is available to adults with a mental health problem who have been referred by a relevant health professional. Demand for places is high and the centre regularly operates at above 90 per cent of capacity.

Open five days a week (Monday to Friday) as a mental health resource centre, there are also some evening sessions, including drop-ins and music nights. Linked to the centre is a scheme which provides ten places for people who need support to live independently.

Steve says the centre is always looking for supporters and volunteers who want to get involved.

“I just love the people here,” says Andy, who was recently asked to drive the centre’s minibus after getting his licence back. “A lot of people are surprised at how welcoming it is. I have made a lot of friends.”

■ The Waddington Street Centre is a registered charity which is mainly funded by Durham County Council Adult and Community Services. It also receives funding or support from 27 other organisations.

waddingtoncentre.co.uk