According to the Daily Star:- http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/304012/Skint-Sunderland-is-the-depression-capital-of-UK-/ SUNDERLAND is the *depression capital of the UK, with one in five there suffering, according to mental health experts. And it’s mainly because *people on Wearside are broke after big local employers, like the city’s ship-building yards, closed. So many people in Sunderland are seeking help for mental health problems that charity workers are struggling to cope. But the problem is about to get worse, with a double whammy of sweeping benefits cuts coming into force two weeks tomorrow, just as the budget for mental health *workers has been slashed. The Sunderland branch of *charity Mind is already caring for 350 people every month, with 200 of those blaming money worries for their depression. Countless more in the city have turned to drink, drugs or both in a bid to cope. Others are hooked on anti-depressants or are even *attempting suicide. Dorothy Gardiner, inset, project manager at the city’s Mind branch, said: “We are already seeing more people coming in because they’ve been made unemployed. “People are losing their homes and, in some cases, they are taking their own lives.” The branch, which has eight staff and 23 volunteers, has money *worries of its own – £12,000 has just been cut from its budget. The grim picture emerged in the *newly-published Mental Health Profile reports drawn up for every part of England. It showed 20.2% of those aged over 18 in Sunderland are *suffering from depression. Last year, in parts of the city, there was a 525% increase in the number of people under 24 *claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance. Joplings department store was once known as the “Harrods of *Sunderland”. It closed down in 2010 after 206 years. Across the road from the Joplings building, foul-mouthed youths so drunk they can barely stand up spend their *morning swigging *lager outside the Jobcentre. A hot dog costs just £1.50 at the snack wagon parked near The Bridges, the city’s main *shopping centre – but people are so hard-up they buy one to share. “I regularly get asked to cut them in two. Can you believe that?” said Rod Dorrian, who has been *running his mobile catering *business for seven years. “I charge £1.40 for chips but I’ve started to get customers saying ‘Can you give me just a quid’s worth?’ That’s how bad it is.” * Every day from his wagon Rod, 45, sees just how hard the people have been hit by the economic slump. “You don’t see many smiling *faces, people look depressed,” he said. Rod’s weekly pay has dropped by £150 a week in the last year. “I heard on the radio that the *recession is over. Not here, the poor are just getting poorer,” he said. “Some days I get blokes who have lost their jobs begging for food. “A friend of mine works in a supermarket and got *injured when a scuffle broke out with *customers desperate to get their hands on meat that was * reduced in price.” The city’s *football club has done little to lift people’s spirits, with Sunderland fighting relegation from the Premier League. They have a must-win match against Norwich today. And if the Black Cats fail to stay up, boss Martin O’Neill, 61, could be heading to the Jobcentre *himself, alongside the 80 workers from *Sunderland-based Thompson Builders Merchants who were made redundant last week. Sunderland City Council, which has shed 1,500 jobs in three years, approved *another *£37million of cuts last week.
I'm sure that a lot of people are depressed in the current economic climate, and not just in Sunderland. However, it is also the Daily Star we are talking about here, so don't also be surprised if it is lazy journalism..
Sounds like the usual southern press sticking a pin in a map of the North and writing bollocks about the town where it lands.
This .. You tend to look at York as a beautiful, historical city but get round the outskirts into the real life there and it's an absolute **** hole..
Some bloody good pubs tho. Down next weekend to sample a few jars of ale. Gonna try the Ackhorne. All the times I've been down there never ever went in that one. probably have a couple in the blue bell, the maltings and the hansom cab as well. F*ck knows what i'll do for the 2nd hour.
get yourself into the Artful dodger, just down Mickelgate..... sky sports screens on the beer pumps.....
I'm really angry with the state of Sunderland, we need to attract bussiness into the centre, I never hear of any out of the box thinking by the local council or MPs. I've had to move to London to work because the north east can't give me what I need or want as a young professional. That's why safc can be an escape for a lot on weekends, a reason to cheer, & why football is so important in the north east, & the fans are the most passionate. We are overdue some success.
I honestly don't know why the Daily Star bothered registering as a newspaper. The actual amount of news in there you could write on a matchbox. The rest is just celebrity gossip.
True, but the story is based on a fact. There's more depressed people in Sunderland than any other city.
You've got me there. I take it all back. Im off to pack my bags and head home. What time does the jobcentre open?
Hardly surprising given that the people of Sunderland pay their taxes to see everything invested in the cities of newcastle and gateshead. Sunderland gets fck all the town centre is a **** hole whereas newcastle is given everything. It goes back to the civil war and sunderland is still been punished for not supporting the royals. People may think its bollox but i assure you it is not newcastle is a royalist city therefore they get everything.
So a city the size of Sunderland which has a population of what? 280,000? has more depressed people than a city the size of London which has a population of 8,000,000? Arsehole journalism mate.
Whether its because of the civil war or not is one thing but do agree 100% that any money has gone to Newcastle & Gateshead. It's more than that though, its the mistakes of the past. Knocking down beautiful buildings for 1960's ****e. Loosing the airport instead of expanding it. I think Gateshead have forward thinking council though. What on earth are ours doing? We've missed the boat now cos its gonna be a different generation before there's a recovery from this recession.
