We have been informed by the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, who fund the provision of much of CAPS’ Independent Collective Advocacy work, that they intend to withdraw their funding and cancel CAPS’ contracts to provide Collective Advocacy. A final decision will be made by the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board at their meeting on 26th August 2025 having been postponed since the first proposed date of 17th June. The timescale would also become clear at this meeting.
The projects at risk are:
- Oor Mad History
- Arts as Advocacy
- Seen But Not Heard, Eating Disorders project
- Experiences of Psychosis
- Much More Than a Label, Personality Disorder project
- Experiences of Trauma
- LGBTQIA+ advocacy
- Minority Ethnic advocacy
- Lothian Voices
- Edinburgh Collective Advocacy
- Peer Forum
Please be assured that until a final decision is known our groups will continue with the important work that they are doing.
For clarity, projects which are NOT included in these proposed cuts are: Veterans Collective Advocacy, East Lothian and Midlothian Collective Advocacy.
We understand that this is really difficult news, but we are committed to working hard to challenge these cuts. We hope we can make this a time for us all to come together and be pro-active in doing all we can to retain these important groups. CAPS has been operating for 34 years and our Collective Advocacy provision is the most comprehensive in Scotland. As a grass-roots organisation CAPS grew out of the earliest days of the mental health ‘user’ movement back in the eighties. To this day CAPS’ Collective Advocacy has defended marginalised people’s human rights in the system. We have some time to try to influence the decision and CAPS management and staff are putting together a strategy for challenging this recommendation. An important part of this is to invite people who’ve been involved with CAPS to come together to show the impact of being part of the projects.
How you can help
If you’ve been involved with CAPS Collective Advocacy we’re asking you if you could please give us a testimonial to help us evidence the importance of our work. Please write three short paragraphs in answer to the following points:
- How are you involved with CAPS?
- What benefits do you get from Collective Advocacy?
- What will be the impact on you if CAPS’ groups end?
Please send your testimonial to catherine@capsadvocacy.org. Testimonials will be included as part of CAPS’ campaign and promotional work, either in part or as a whole. They will be publicly available on our website and anonymous unless you choose to give us your name. If you have any further questions about these proposed cuts please contact ele@capsadvocacy.org.