Justin Tomlinson, MP for Swindon North constituency is backing an appeal for donations to enable life-changing work by The Salvation Army’s Highworth-based Lifehouse to be available to more people. The MP will visit the centre on Friday 24 June to see the premises and meet staff and clients.
The 15-bed centre in Highworth near Swindon provides accommodation and support to men who are determined to make a new start after experiencing problems with alcohol or substance abuse.
The MP will arrive at Gloucester House at 12.30 pm and tour the centre meeting service users and staff. The visit has been instigated by former client Phil Spalding who has undertaken a considerable amount of profile raising and arranged two successful concerts drawing on the goodwill of his colleagues in the music industry to help attract funds for the ‘Buy a Bed, Save a Life’ appeal.
Sue Tollington is the Centre Manager and has outlined the need to raise funds in order to ensure that no-one slips through the net, ‘At one time treatment at Gloucester House was available to anyone, including the homeless. Two years ago the Supporting People grant we received was drastically reduced and we either had to close the Centre or change the way clients were funded. This means that all service users now have to be funded by their Local Authority to access treatment. With the cutbacks in local Government funding all over the UK, the money available for such treatment is limited and inevitably some will not get the funding they require.
‘Gloucester House has set up a ‘Buy a Bed, Save a Life’ fund to pay the therapy fees of those who are unable to get funding. We have held a number of fund raising events, including music concerts organised by ex-client, Phil Spalding. We are grateful to all those who have given time and money to support this cause.’
Justin Tomlinson MP said in anticipation of his arrival, ‘I am delighted to be visiting Gloucester House and supporting the ‘Buy a Bed...Save a Life’ campaign. Gloucester House does fantastic work, helping to turn people’s lives around and giving them a second chance. The opportunity for a new start, free from addiction, should be widely available, but there are too few places like Gloucester House who have the expertise to be able to provide the necessary support. I hope the campaign will be successful in ensuring more people get that opportunity’.
The centre’s patron Baroness Stedman-Scott will join the MP for his visit and is enthusiastic about the higher profile being afforded to this aspect of The Salvation Army’s social services work.