NEARLY three-quarters of all the people who seek help via the Citizens Advice charity when it conducts outreach work in Wellington have mental health issues.

That was the stark message put forward by Jon Shoesmith, of Citizens Advice, when he spoke at Wellington’s annual parish meeting.

The town council has a funding partnership with Citizens Advice – known as a service level agreement (SLA) – which provides the charity with £5,000 a year for three years, with the current deal ending next March.

Mr Shoesmith told residents and councillors at the meeting that Citizens Advice had seen 460 people during the past year from across Wellington and Rockwell Green, with the vast majority seeking advice about benefits.

The cost of living crisis was also having an impact and covered many issues from benefits, employment, debt, housing, and domestic abuse.

Mr Shoesmith said: “We might get somebody coming in and telling us about all of those issues at the same time.

“Seventy-four per cent of people we saw, reported having mental health issues – we have never had that high a figure before.”

He said the Taunton office of Citizens Advice which covered the Wellington area was facing a £40,000 shortfall in funding in comparison to previous years.

“The financial support we receive from Wellington Town Council is vital if we are to continue providing a physical presence in the town,” said Mr Shoesmith.

But he warned that the Citizens Advice organisation across Somerset would lose 'a six-figure sum' this year in funding support.

The three-year funding agreement between Citizens Advice and the town council was agreed in May, 2021, when Mr Shoesmith told councillors that demand for its support services had steadily increased.

Mr Shoesmith had asked for a £4,850 grant for 2021-22, but councillors, realising the importance of Citizens Advice, upped the sum to £5,000 for each of the three years to save the charity making annual requests for financial support.

The council had invited representatives of organisations which had received SLAs or grant support to each give a brief presentation to the parish meeting.

Other organisations to speak at the meeting included Reminiscence Learning, Wellington Police, Wellington Community Counselling, the Eat Festival, Wellington Basins Volunteer Group, Wellington Carnival Committee, and Wellington Methodist Church.

Wellington Mayor, Cllr Marcus Barr, thanked all the organisations for the work they did in the Wellington area.