The former drug dealer offering a lifeline to those in need
Every seven seconds - on average - a person was referred for NHS mental health support in England in September. In Burnley, that comes as no surprise to Pastor Mick - a drug-dealer-turned-lifesaver during Covid - who each day meets people struggling to survive.Joanne was shaken to her core 18 months ago when her partner, Robert, died suddenly.Robert's mental health deteriorated during the first lockdown. He couldn't cope with being stuck at home and developed suicidal thoughts.
Although Joanne doesn't blame the mental health team, she believes Robert could have been saved with early help. "I think he'd have been all right - he'd have still been here." Sadly, Joanne's story is one Pastor Mick is all too familiar with. When Robert died, he says, two other young men took their lives in streets close to Robert's home. At the time, Mick was regularly handing out food parcels in a car park in Burnley.
In September 2021, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust says it recorded the highest monthly number of so-called "Section 136" detentions in its area. That's when police detain a person and take them to a place of safety if they appear to have a mental health disorder. There were 196 - more than six a day.
When John arrives at the church, he's shouting, sweating and struggling to breathe. It's upsetting to see."I know who they are," he says, shaking uncontrollably. "They've been so horrible and nasty towards me. I've just had enough, it's been going on too long.""Come on, I want you to take a deep breath," says Mick, holding John in his arms.
"This place is breathing new life, it's helping people. The people who don't make it through the door die.""You don't know what to think, what to do, who to speak to," he says. "People look at you like you belong in a lunatic asylum when you speak about your mental health."But John also reveals he hasn't seen a GP all year and has lost faith in mental health care - describing it as "non-existent".
Looking at Demi Lea and her two children - who have come for breakfast at St Matthew's - you'd never think they were struggling. But Demi Lea says she hasn't done a food shop for months and relies on food banks, charity, and handouts.She first referred herself for mental health support at the end of 2020, got a phone consultation in June and is now on a waiting list for therapy.
As we talk, just like the night before, there are more emergencies. Over a 30-minute period, Mick gets three panicked phone calls. He tells us there was a missed call one night when he was asleep - and the caller had left a worrying message. "If you don't answer the phone, I'm going to kill myself."A few days later when we arrive at the church one morning, we meet a man called Robbie who's 29. He has been on the streets all night, but is now sitting in the office going through his possessions - the clothes on his back and a couple of see-through plastic bags.
Robbie begins to get upset. "I feel confusion, suicidal - it's like they've designed it to make me do it because they don't want me here no more. But I'm just trying to better myself. I just want a better life, that's all I want. I'm sick of this." All of a sudden, in the street outside the church, there's another tense moment. Women scream after a man collapses. "He's OD'd. Help, he's overdosed outside."
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