A spontaneous episode from me on something very close to my witchy heart. Please know I do get a bit emotional in this little episode. 

Open letter to the people of Leeds (and beyond),

For the past 35 years, the team here at The Market Place charity has been offering free, personal mental health support to the young people of this great city. We have had hundreds of thousands of visits from tens of thousands of young people and from the feedback we have received over the years, we know we have made a huge difference.

We would like to thank all of the schools, GPs, universities, family, friends, and most importantly, the young people themselves that have trusted us to provide non-judgemental, young person centred, confidential support throughout this time. We are immensely proud of the reputation we have built across Leeds and this, alongside the quality of support we give, remains our strongest selling point.

Our way of working has enabled young people to feel confident exploring issues and concerns they have, develop ways of coping, forge their own paths to feeling happier, overcome barriers, build resilience, and not just survive, but thrive.

We are a dedicated, committed, and skilled team who all share a passion for working with young people and who take immense pride in the work we do and being “allowed in” to the lives of young people, often at a time when they are struggling the most. We treat this as a privilege and as such, we strive to ensure all young people we see aren’t simply listened to, but heard and valued.

All that said, we write to you at a time of great sadness and urgent need. The Market Place’s current main source of income ends on 30th June 2024. This massive loss of income for The Market Place means we will have to drastically reduce our offer and we will not have the capacity to support as many young people as we have until now.

This is where we need you. The Market Place needs your support like never before so that we can keep supporting the amazing young people of Leeds. We have a plan to keep the charity going on a smaller scale to enable us to relaunch early in the Autumn. Our offer will continue to provide counselling and long-term support– which we know young people who use our services really value and need.

It doesn’t feel right that we are the ones asking for support but this is the unfortunate position we are in.

We urge you to spread the word to everyone you know and point them in the direction of our fundraising effort on JustGiving 

Please share this news as widely as possible and donate or consider raising vital funds for us. We would hugely appreciate any and all the help you are able to give in this difficult time.

Thank you,

From the staff, volunteers and trustees at The Market Place Leeds.

DONATE AT https://justgiving.com/themarketplaceleeds

https://www.themarketplaceleeds.org.uk/