A woman from Rishton has set up a mental health support group in Blackburn this month at a time when mental health is believed to deteriorate during the cold winter months.

Sandra Prince, 69, has launched the group ‘SAVING LIVES’ to offer support and guidance for locals who may be suffering with depression, anxiety, trauma or other mental health problems.

Each letter of the name, SAVING LIVES, represents a principle that Sandra wants to promote within her group – Support, Advice, Voice, Insight, Nurture, Group help, Listen, Involve, Valid, Empathy, and Strength.

Having experienced the symptoms of bereavement after her fiancé died two years ago, Sandra wanted to channel her understanding of mental health struggles by helping others, particularly as the waiting list for NHS mental health services grows.

Sandra said: “When I was going through my own troubles, I was receiving support from an organisation about once a month.

"Now it’s great to have that there but once a month isn’t enough. You need to be able to sit down with somebody once a week or more and talk.

“So what I’m trying to do is for anybody suffering, whether that be depression, anxiety, trauma, bereavement, anything at all – you don’t need to be on your own.”

The group sessions will be held at the CVS Community Hub in Railway Road, Blackburn, and the first one will be held on Monday, January 9, from 6pm to 8pm.

Sandra ran a mental health support group in Blackburn around six years ago but ended as the venue building was demolished.

Since then, Sandra said she has noticed a spike in the number of people struggling with mental health problems.

She said: “I’ve heard so many more stories of people taking the lives but that has to change.”

The rate of emergency hospital admissions for intentional self-harm in Blackburn with Darwen is significantly higher than England’s and Lancashire’s suicide rate has remained significantly worse than England’s since 2006-2008.

Sandra continued: “While mental health awareness is getting better, it’s not as taboo as it was in the olden days, so many more people are struggling because the waiting list for mental health services is so long.

"It’s months before people can be seen and that wait is enough to push someone over the edge.”

Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of adults have to wait more than 12 weeks to start treatment, leaving many desperate, and 43 per cent of adults with mental health illness say the long waits for treatments lead to their mental health deteriorating, research from The Royal College of Psychiatrists states.

Responding to the harrowing fact the rate of adult depression in Blackburn with Darwen is above the England average, Sandra is determined to provide a safe support space for anyone struggling.

She added: “As well as how hard it is to ask for help from the doctor, a lot of people just don’t like going to the GP or don’t like telling family or friends.

"I can vouch for myself because my dad is elderly, you don’t want to add more problems. But when it’s a group of strangers and everyone is in the same boat, it’s a lot easier.”

The sessions will be held every Monday for two hours between 6pm and 8pm and depending on the turn out, Sandra is hoping to run the support groups on additional days of the week.