Cornish charity closes its doors before Christmas

A Cornish charity that has helped thousands of people in Newquay by providing hot meals and food parcels as well as clothes is closing due to a lack of funding.

Monique Collins, who has been the manager of the Drop In and Share Centre (Disc) for seven years, said: "It's made me ill if I am totally honest and my family have just had enough now.

"Like any grassroots charity there might be one pot of money and there'll be like 20 to 25 groups going for it, so there just isn't enough funding around.

"So we had to make a very sad, sad decision to call it a day and I'm actually heartbroken about it, it really has affected me because I do care, but I can't do it anymore."

One of the volunteers Becky Hall first came to Disc for help after losing both her parents and foster parents.

"It gave me a family I never knew I had.

"It's quite scary to think that come the new year we don't really know what's going to happen for the people that have had that support not just financially but sometimes emotionally as well," she said.

Donna Harker first went to Disc for help and ended up running its art and craft sessions.

"It actually scares me... this is finished and what am I going to do, not just in the sense of the foodbank but also the joy I get out of coming here?" she said.

Earlier this year, Monique Collins said the number of people using its service had gone up by 50% in the past year, from 2,000 to 3,000.

Disc provided food for breakfast clubs in schools in Newquay with other schools in St Austell and Bodmin asking for help.

"We've been helping out schools the whole year with fresh fruit, with cereals and with milk, so that children can have a breakfast before they start the day," said Ms Collins.

"There are so many families struggling whereby children go to school and they are hungry because they have not had any breakfast.

"Parents are just desperate, there is just not enough money to go around, that goes back to, once again, to working families that are struggling the most," she said.

Disc Newquay was first registered in 2017, according to the Charity Commission, with the objective of "prevention or relief of poverty for homeless persons in the Newquay area".

It is due to officially close on 1 January.

An earlier statement from the trustees said "For the last few years, the charity has had the privilege of providing food, aid, and a sense of hope to individuals and families facing unimaginable challenges.

"Through the generosity, dedication, and support from the local community and beyond, we've been able to make a lasting impact.

"Your generosity has left an indelible mark on our community, and for that, we are eternally grateful."

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