Croydon Carers Centre under threat

Croydon Carers Centre, in Katharine Street, faces a funding shortfall and has faced rising costs over the past few years.

It says if they do not manage to secure significant funding soon they will be forced to close in September.

The charity is non Government funded and relies completely on donations and the income from their small charity shop.

They used to receive a £13,000 grant from the council but this has now been stopped and the annual running cost of the centre has hit £30,000.

Tina Stracey, manager of the centre, explained that when the centre opened 11 years ago they paid £5 in rent.

However the building was then taken over by a management company who introduced, with VAT, £6000 annual rent. On top of that a £2500 insurance cost has also been introduced.

Ms Stracey said that they used to rely on donations from big companies but these had now stopped as there is "no money around at all at the moment".

She said: "We are currently applying for a grant from Lloyds TSB but even if we did manage to secure it, it wouldn’t even cover our rent."

"We are relying completely on fundraising events and the charity shop at the moment but unfortunately the shop suffers from a lack of footfall and so is not a reliable source of income."

Ms Stracey feels the centre offers vital help for carers. It operates a drop-in at anytime service and also helps with benefits, housing, special needs, transport and respite care.

She said: "Carers often come in here really upset and down but we manage to put a smile on their faces before they leave. There are other organisations who do a similar job to us but they’re not as friendly and they don’t have the same open-door policy which we have."

The charity has been in existence for 20 years now and acquired a building in 2000. It was originally being run out of people’s houses and church halls but Ms Stracey said having the building had made a real difference to the charity and helped it to help many more people.

The centre currently has 6000 carers on their books, but there are 33,000 carers in Croydon in total and the charity would like to be able to offer all support if they need it.

Ms Stracey added: "We feel it is our job to go out and find these carers who need our help. This will be made even more difficult if we lose the building. People know we’re here now."

This has already become more difficult as the charity had to sell their minibus which allowed them to take carers shopping or on day trips. They also used it to seek out carers who may need help but don’t know where to turn.

However enquiries for help from the charity are still increasing every year. The centre had 14,500 enquiries last year and they are up to 8,000 already this year.

Ms Stracey urged any business to contact the centre if they can offer any funds at all.

She said "Without funds, we simply will not be able to stay open."