Our Community Hubs are Lifelines At Risk

Across West Sussex, CAPITAL’s weekly groups, creative hubs, and community outings have been a huge source of support for people rebuilding their lives through peer support. They are safe spaces where people can connect, share experiences, and find confidence and recovery. Now, all of these vital groups are under threat due to funding cuts. 

Funding cuts and uncertainty in local commissioning mean that our weekly groups and hubs are at risk of closure. For our members, these groups are not optional extras - they are lifelines. 
 

More Than Just a Group 

For many people, attending a weekly group is the first time they feel seen, heard and accepted. It is where isolation turns into understanding, and where shared experience becomes hope. Our CAPITAL members describe these groups as the one place they can be themselves without judgment. Losing them would mean losing community, safety, and stability. 

The same is true for our staff and volunteers. Many of our peer workers came to CAPITAL as members themselves. For them, this work is not just a job. It is part of their ongoing recovery and contributes a true sense of purpose. 

Helen, our volunteer who facilitates Community Groups in Bognor, says: “I think the community groups that CAPITAL runs, the peer support that CAPITAL runs, the Lived Experience Advisory Group that CAPITAL runs; they work as a connected whole.

So you have people who are in hospital who then get better enough to be discharged, they are then handed over to our community groups. The members then have the option to, slowly at their own pace with a huge amount of support, grow into becoming volunteers or becoming staff in some cases or having their voice heard.

So CAPITAL is set up as a system that is basically meant to support people to help themselves and that is what lived experience does; lived experiences allow people to go at their own pace because the other person that they're talking to has been there and they know what it's like to be pushed too hard. They know what it's like to be given a lot of information that doesn't make any sense that they're not able to handle, they know what it's like to feel like a burden. They know what it's like to think, I could have done this last year but I can't do it now that's what lived experience does. It doesn't belittle people, it gives people the power to help themselves without being told what to do. And we are going to lose that.”
 

The Art of Recovery 

Among the groups at risk are our creative sessions and social hubs. In the Adur, Worthing, and Western areas, members attend: CAPITAL Creative Group every Monday afternoon in Bognor, a friendly space for all abilities; CAPITAL Connections on Thursday afternoons for chat, support, and snacks; and a Weekend Arts & Crafts Group every other Saturday, where members can enjoy crafting in a relaxed environment. Our online hubs are held monthly to bring everyone from all areas together. 

In Northern areas including Crawley, East Grinstead, and Haywards Heath, peer-led Community Hubs are held fortnightly in Crawley and East Grinstead. These spaces allow members to connect, craft, chat, and socialise in a safe, welcoming environment. 

Special events and outings like Wakehurst trips and workshops as part of the Community Access Scheme bring members, volunteers and staff together, building connection and confidence. 
 

The Cost of Losing Connection 

When funding disappears, the impact spreads far beyond the surface. Members lose crucial social connections, peer workers may lose roles that are essential to their own recovery, and communities lose the trust and understanding that comes from lived experience. The cost to mental health services rises when longer term relational support is lost. 

Each week, these groups support many people across West Sussex. For some, attending a hub is the only time they leave home. For others, it is the reason they are still moving forward in recovery. 

One member said: ‘It’s amazing being with other people who understand my mental health issues. I love being in the groups.’ 
 

A Call for Support 

We urgently need support to keep these groups and CAPITAL alive. Whether through donations, fundraising, partnerships, sponsorship, or spreading the word, your help sustains the spaces that keep people connected and safe. 

Every contribution, big or small, goes directly into supporting peer-led recovery, keeping hubs open and enabling special events that are lifelines for members. 
 

More Than a Service, It’s a Community 

CAPITAL was built on the belief that lived experience should lead change. Our members, volunteers and staff show that recovery is not only possible but powerful when people are given the chance to connect and contribute. 

Now, more than ever, we need to protect what works, because when our weekly groups and hubs stop, so does a mental health recovery lifeline. 

Read more about our Northern CAPITAL Hubs & Groups 
and our AAW/Western Hubs & Groups 

If you'd like to help support CAPITAL with fundraising, donations or sharing our message 
See our CAPITAL Donate page

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