A SOMERSET counselling charity set up in memory of a teenager lost to suicide has revealed how it receives “not a penny funding from the NHS”, despite saving thousands of children’s lives each year. 

In Charley’s Memory provides life-saving one-to-one counselling and group support for anyone over the age of 11 in mental distress. The charity, which is based in Highbridge, has seen referrals triple since the Covid pandemic and supports more than 200 young people per week. 

The charity was established following the death of Charley Marks, who took his own life in 2014. Dawn Carey, CEO of In Charley’s Memory, met Charley as a child and has remained a firm family friend.

She reflects: “Charley was a bit of a rebel but he was sociable, popular young sportsman and he had a real sense of humour. But, by the time he was 18, he was really struggling with his mental health and wasn’t getting the right care.

“In his final few weeks, Charley was sectioned and spent a short and traumatic time on an adult mental health ward. Ten days after discharge, he took his own life.”

"In Charley’s Memory is here today because Charley is not. We don’t get a penny funding as we’re not commissioned. Unlike other services, which receive funding from the NHS, our services are deemed ‘not a priority’ for benefitting the need of the Somerset population", Dawn added. 

This is despite the charity having a wide outreach and supporting thousands of individuals over the last decade; in some of the most serious cases, the charity has prevented children from taking their own lives.

In addition, In Charley’s Memory has a wide reach, with a project that is operating weekly in six schools in the county for over 6,000 pupils, and a youth club in Burnham-on-Sea with 40 to 50 regular attendees.

If every client the charity supported in 2023 had instead been referred to Somerset’s CAMHS, it would have cost NHS Somerset ICB around £737,000 based on figures from the Children’s mental health services 2022-23 report published in March 2024.

Dawn adds: “It’s frustrating that we have the clients, but that the money doesn’t follow. We therefore rely heavily on grants from the National Lottery, Somerset Community Foundation, and Burnham and Highbridge Town Council. We are not-for-profit; anything we make goes back into care costs.”

“You have to jump through hoops to get any funding now, as the competition is so strong.” 

“Today, the charity is supporting hundreds of people per week, and we have a waiting list of 100 young people - if we can’t find funding and have to close the doors and where will these people go?”

“Upwards of 90% of them have already tried to get help from the GP, school or CAMHS before they get to us, so we have grave concerns over what else would be available to them", Dawn said. 

In Charley’s Memory receives no NHS funding and needs around £300,000 each year to survive. To cope with the costs, the charity has recently launched a fundraising campaign to raise £75,000 to keep the service open past next spring 2025.

An average donation of £15 is recommended for each counselling session, but there are some children receiving therapy who pay as little as 50p – a marker of the health inequalities and economic deprivation affecting children in Somerset.

Dawn ends: “We are seeing a heavy reliance on the voluntary sector, and there is an overriding frustration at the constant fight to secure funding. But what we will never do is send someone onto another waiting list.”

In response to the concerns raised, Catherine Connor, Associate Director of Mental Health, Autism, and Learning Disabilities at NHS Somerset said: “In Somerset, we commission a range of mental health services to support children, young people and adults living with mental health difficulties.”

“Due to limited financial resources, Our Somerset (the integrated care system for Somerset) prioritises services which are mandated nationally, including those we are legally obliged to provide under our statutory responsibilities.”

“We commission a variety of services specifically to support children and young people’s mental health, delivered by both NHS and non-NHS partners, including the voluntary sector.”

These services include CAMHS, Mental Health Support Teams, Community Wellbeing Service, digital therapies, support for the LGBTQ+ community, and the Child Sexual Abuse Support Service.

Catherine continued: “Additionally, we consider local gap analysis to identify areas of need. These services are typically procured through a competitive process, allowing any service– whether NHS, independent sector, or voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations – that meets the specified criteria to bid.”

“However, the majority of available funding is directed toward statutory services to fulfil our legal obligations.”

“Recognising the invaluable contributions of voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations in Somerset, we are actively collaborating with Spark Somerset to develop a VCFSE network.”

“We remain committed to exploring opportunities to expand our partnerships with VCFSE organisations, addressing areas of unmet need in Somerset.”