PEOPLE with mental health difficulties in Okehampton are to benefit from a new £6,000 project being officially launched today at the Castle Hospital.
The six-month pilot scheme, open for three days a week, will offer attenders the opportunity to learn upholstery and assembly skills in their own town.
'This satellite project means that people with mental health problems do not need to travel to Exeter to benefit from learning new skills, which also helps them adjust to being back in a working environment,' said Robert Nunney, joint project co-ordinator with Kim Aplin, of the Devon Partnership NHS Trust.
'There is also evidence which suggests that people learning new skills in a supported setting feel they are achieving something and are therefore happier – making and repairing furniture can be particularly satisfying,' he added.
The project has been running for five weeks prior to its official opening and the number of people attending sessions has increased from four to 26, which has proven the demand for local work based rehabilitation projects.
Mr Nunney said it was incredibly successful so far: 'It has taken off like a rocket — at the moment it is a pilot project but we hope to have something more permanent.'