Future of Derry's life-saving Crisis Intervention Service uncertain as funding stream ends

The service’s annual funding of £200,000 comes from the Department of Health via a funding stream which has now been closed, with no confirmation of replacement funding beyond March 2025.

Derry City and Strabane District Council will now write urgently to Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to request funding for the service, which is now operating at reduced capacity.

CCIS was set up several years ago after a long campaign by families, campaigners and organisations in the north west to help people experiencing a mental health crisis.

It provides a non-clinical, community response to people experiencing social, emotional or situational crisis, via confidential one-to-one phone calls with trained staff and a range of other services.

Its Director of Development, Sharon Hearty, told the December meeting of Council’s Health and Community Committee that the service is designed to meet a gap in support provision at weekends when individuals are most vulnerable.

This, elected representatives were told, alleviates pressure on agencies such as the PSNI, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Foyle Search and Rescue.

Ms Hearty informed members that CCIS had provided 1,188 crisis de-escalations and interventions during out-of-hours periods and weekends in 2023/2024 alone.

However she warned that, since 2021, CCIS has relied on £200,000 in annual funding from the Department of Health’s Mental Health Support Fund (MHSF), which has now closed, with no indication of replacement funding as of April 2025.

Sinn Féin councillor Sandra Duffy said the city and the island was in “the midst of a mental health crisis” and services like CCIS “can’t be lost or diminished”.

She proposed that council write to Mr Nesbitt, while warning: “All too often in the city we have had tragedies, so I think that it has absolutely saved lives over the years and I’m saddened to see that funding is going to end."

“We really need [CCIS] and the accessibility that it provides to people, particularly out of hours when other services might not be available and somebody is in crisis.

“It was supposed to be a community-led initiative that everybody could access and I think that is the key to [its] success, so we need to keep that model here in the city and district.”

SDLP councillor Brian Tierney said it was “absolutely disgusting” that CCIS representatives have had to return to council “time and time again” to seek funding support.

He made an amendment to the proposal asking council to work with Department of Health, the Western Trust, and any relevant agencies to develop a sustainable funding model.

“A number of years ago this council declared a mental health emergency, and one of the main organisations tasked to tackle that problem is currently running looking for funding and has no assurance of the future.

“It is just not good enough, and we need to find some way to protect this organisation and the service it provides.

“I couldn’t tell you how many things that we discuss around funding programmes, they always find their way towards Stormont, and you get a letter back that there’s no funding. For many this is too important.

“I don’t want a letter from the Minister in maybe six, eight, or 12 weeks’ time to say that there’s no funding, we’re at crisis point and we have to act.”

*Anyone in distress in NI can contact Lifeline 24/7 helpline can be contacted for free on 0808 808 8000 in confidence; The Samaritans can be contacted 24/7 on 02871 265511 or Freephone 116 123 in confidence; Children can contact Childline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 for any issue or by visiting www.childline.org.uk in confidence.

Anyone in distress in RoI can contact Pieta House free on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444; TEXT Crisis Textline Ireland on 50808 - a free 24/7 text service; Ring Samaritans 24/7 on freephone number 116-123.

Full story inside.