The Community Wellbeing Team CIC, a Gateshead mental health group, hopes to expand just months after its launch to help the hardest-to-reach people.
The Felling-registered CIC was established in March this year, after NHS funding for peer-support mental health services in Gateshead was cut in January. The decision, announced in Autumn 2025, left support workers and councillors up in arms, praising the work of the services, despite the Integrated Care Board’s assertion that there was a “lack of data demonstrating improved outcomes”.
New funding sparks hope
Co-founders and former peer support workers Mel Ridsdale and Marie Marron have announced that new funding for 1-2-1 help has sparked hope for future expansion. Neither Mel nor Marie has taken a wage since they started the team and work for it full-time.
The CIC aims to step in and provide support for those going through mental health-related issues or problems that impact mental health. The major gaps identified by CIC include care for those who do not meet the threshold for clinical intervention, isolation, anxiety and depression, and a lack of support for mothers who were struggling to look after their own children.
Supporting the hardest to reach
Speaking to the local democracy reporting service, Marie said: “We are working with or going to be working with the people who have multiple disadvantages, lost touch with their communities and are harder to reach, which is what we did in the NHS. That can involve doing home visits and getting people to a group or appointment, and building confidence up. We are working with those with the most barriers to engagement.”
Marie continued: “People who aren’t fitting in with other models or struggling to engage with them. Lots of people talk about struggling to engage with existing services, especially with the three strikes and you’re out system ad that can be a barrier as well, and it becomes a cycle.”
Funding and current reach
The funding, which will help further the 1-2-1 support, has come from RISE and will run from 7 September for 16 weeks. Melissa and Marie hope it will lead to further, longer-term funding.
The CIC currently helps around 10-15 people a week through its community walks and around 60-70 people a week through its drop-in sessions at Christ Church in Felling. Fundraising continues on the CIC’s GoFundMe page, which has amassed over £2,900 out of a target of £5,000.
