The St Margaret's Centre, a Durham mental health charity that uses arts and crafts to aid recovery, has received a second four-figure grant from the Banks Group. The £2,000 award from the Banks Community Fund will enable the centre to purchase new tools, materials and supplies for its workshop sessions.
Based on Margery Lane in Durham City, the centre provides a calm, therapeutic environment where County Durham residents can regain self-esteem, learn new hobbies and connect with others. It offers a wide range of activities, including woodwork and joinery workshops, arts and crafts and gardening sessions, and hosts a community café open to the public.
Funding to expand workshop provisions
The new grant will be used to buy tools and materials for the centre's woodwork and joinery sessions. These workshops are open to anyone with any level of skill, from complete beginners to experienced craftsmen, with tuition and guidance available for as long as participants need it.
Products made in the workshops, such as bird tables, feeders, place mats and Christmas decorations, are sold to raise money for the charity. The groups also take on furniture restoration and renovation projects.
Centre supports over 410 people in a year
Founded in 1991, the St Margaret's Centre supported more than 410 people over the last year, including 216 new referrals. It has almost 100 volunteers supporting the core team, with a number of people who initially came for support now volunteering to run peer-led craft sessions themselves.
Attendees only require a mental health need, rather than a formal diagnosis, which means the centre can act as a point of early intervention and help prevent symptoms worsening. It has a dedicated support worker to help with issues that can have a mental health impact, including housing, benefits, debt management, relationship problems and healthy living, while the whole team is trained to provide emotional support.
Centre manager welcomes ongoing support
Lisa Harrison, manager at the St Margaret's Centre, said: “The services we provide are tailored to the needs of each individual, in terms of how long they access them, the sorts of things they do and the support they need to make the most of what we offer.
“Some of our joinery workshop participants have never done this sort of thing before, while others bring a lot of skills with them and particularly value the sort of camaraderie that they’d previously had with colleagues in the workplace.
“We see the difference these sessions make to the well-being and confidence of our service users, especially when participants go on to share their skills and learning as volunteers.
“Demand for our support remains high, and it’s important that we maintain the quality of the services we provide to ensure they have the maximum possible positive impact.
“Banks’ continuing support in helping us cover our operating costs and making sure we have all the supplies we need to keep delivering these services plays an important role in achieving that objective.”
This is the second time the Banks Group has supported St Margaret's, with a £2,000 grant given in 2024 covering materials and tuition costs for the centre's arts and crafts sessions, which include painting and drawing, calligraphy, fabric crafts, clay modelling and leather jewellery making.
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, said: “The St Margaret's team helps hundreds of local people when they need that help the most and in ways that enable their service users to become happier, healthier and more confident.
“We’re very pleased to be working with another amazing community organisation in our home city and to be helping St Margaret's keep up with the demand for their support.”
The Banks Group's community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation). For further information on the services provided at the St Margaret's Centre, visit www.stmargaretscentre.co.uk or follow @smcdurham on Facebook.
