Councillors will be lobbied over proposed budget cuts to frontline charity

Staff and service users of a threatened charity will gather on Thursday to get the message through to councillors: cuts will cost lives.

A local authority is proposing to withdraw its support to Glasgow Association of Mental Health (GAMH) – a move which will see the lifelife group’s funding slashed by 40%.

This will mean its effective closure – and the charity is lobbying Glasgow councillors before a full council meeting on Thursday.

The demo is intended as a lobby to highlight the group’s plight and it follows on from a well attended protest last month.

TFN recently revealed that a confidential report shows the true worth of the charity, which helps more than 1,000 people a week, including some of society most vulnerable, to the people of Glasgow.

The social return on investment report shows that for an annual input of £2.1 million from the city council, the authority gets a return of £11.1m.

Staff and service users say that if GAMH closes, the cost will be pushed onto other services and ultimately the taxpayer.

Trade union Unison, which is organising Thursday’s protest, has vowed to fight the cuts and made a dire warning of the service “melt down” if the cuts go ahead.

Official Deborah Dyer said: “People will end up in acute beds, in police cells and on the street. Closing a charity down, which is effectively what they are doing, is irresponsible.”

A city council spokesman said: "The council has been under substantial financial pressure in recent years and it has been widely anticipated that we are still expected to find further savings."

"Where appropriate we have been working with providers to inform them of the reality of the public finances so they can plan accordingly."

The GAMH Cuts Will Cost Lives demo assembles on Thursday, 11 December at 12.45pm outside Glasgow City Chambers at George Square.