Local charity could close by Christmas

Race Against Multiple Sclerosis (RAMS), which is based at The Cutts in Derriaghy, opened in 1987 and has since offered much needed therapy to MS sufferers, as well as those with fibromyalgia, ME and celebral palsy.

However, after the therapy centre was devastated by major flooding in 2012, the charity has found itself quickly using up its finanical reserves to meet everyday bills and is now facing the very real prospect of having to close its doors at the end of the year.

“Originally formed to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which helps alleviate some of the distressing symptoms of this disease, we have since expanded to include individual physiotherapy programmes, managed by our in-house physiotherapist, massage, reflexology, nutritional information and counselling,” explaiuned Centre Manager BJ Beck.

“ In addition to this, our centre provides a valuable forum for sufferers and their carers to meet and help each other.

“At present our costs are approximately £120,000 per annum, funding for which comes solely from voluntary contributions as we do not receive any funding from the government.

“We are therefore responsible for our own fundraising.

“We organise such things as street collections, dances, quizzes, golfing days, fashions shows etc to keep ourselves operational.”

The charity isn’t government funded and Mr Beck is gravely concerned that without some serious money being brought into the Centre, it can no longer survive.

“We have been turned down for funding from every source we have tried,” he continued.

“We do as much as we can for the local community and I believe our work saves the health service a lot of money every year.

“The centre was badly flooded in 2012 and it took us six months to get up and running again.

“We had to use a lot of our money to help with the reopening and now we are really struggling to pay our bills and keep going.

“Now we are at the stage that if we don’t get a good amount of money from somewhere we won’t be able to keep going.

“Looking at how things are we will be lucky to survive until Christmas,” concluded Mr Beck.