LAST week we reported that the South Lakeland branch of Mind is on the brink of closure.

The chief officer of the charity said it has seen grants and funding cut or stopped, at a time when users are increasing, and is now in such dire straits it may have to close its doors in December.

The facts speak for themselves: hundreds of local people, suffering from mental health problems, turn to the charity every year for support.

These are people with illnesses, such as bipolar or obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as people who have suffered trauma, abuse, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and a whole raft of other problems that one day you or I might be suffering from as well.

If that were the case I'd want to know there was somewhere I could go without judgment - and more importantly, without a waiting list that could push me further towards the edge.

So how has it come to this?

It starts, in my opinion, with a raft of greedy bankers, who took risks that led to the financial crisis we're still in.

This was a crisis that hit ordinary people the hardest. Ever since, those same people - with mortgages, families and bills - have been repeatedly punished.

Wages have stagnated, living costs have shot up and people are finding they cannot cope with the pressures of everyday life.

So it is no wonder Mind has found itself ever more in demand: living in a state of stress is going to have an impact on our minds and bodies.

In addition, statutory bodies have found they cannot offer funding in the same way, and grants have become ever-harder to come by.

But the people who use the charity cannot halt their illnesses simply because the funds have dried up.

Like someone with a broken leg or an infection, they need help and they need it now.

So just like them, the charity is now being forced to hold its hands up and say: "We need help too."

This is an SOS from an organisation that is needed more than ever.

So let's make sure it doesn't go under.