A WARRINGTON charity hit by a financial crisis has closed its doors for the final time.
The Relationships Centre in Museum Street, has had to close due to lack of funds made worse by a failed building project.
Acting director Sarah Humphreys said: “We are all very sad that we have had no option other than to close the services in Warrington.
“It has been a great pleasure working with such dedicated and professional youth support workers, local schools and the remaining trustees.
“Over the last few months I have had the privilege of watching services for young people delivered by the remaining team and have found their approach to be absolutely inspirational. The feedback recently from the young people that we worked with has been very positive.
“We were lucky to have support over the last few months from the social services teams, councillors and our Mayor, Les Morgan throughout what has been a difficult period and we would like to thank everybody who has supported us.”
The charity opened in 1998 and over the years provided many successful services for local families, women and young people.
Some of the programmes were the result of collaborative partnerships between statutory organisations to address local priorities and needs.
One example was the ‘Talk don’t Walk’ programme which aimed to reduce the burden on services across the area – police, health and social care through tackling the underlying reasons behind a young person running away from home, by working closely with their family and other professionals such as school, social services or any other agency.
In recent years, the charity has attracted only limited funding, providing some services in schools, including the provision of essential life skills and unique support for care leavers, leaving it facing a significant financial challenge.
The closure was brought about by a failed building project to convert the cellar in the building instigated by a former director which added to the financial burden.
Other financial issues and historical irregularities emerged and the only option available to the charity was closure, with the loss of services to schools and vulnerable young people that aren’t offered by any other agency.
