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Penumbra was established in 1985 and is a leading Scottish voluntary organisation working in the field of mental health. We provide an extensive range of person-centred support services for adults and young people. Our services include regular support at home, a variety of managed accommodation, respite facilities, specialist services for people with alcohol related brain damage, and young people's services such as one-to-one support, advice, information and education. We have based the development of our services on the rights of the people who use them to choice, dignity and participation in ordinary life. This philosophy has guided our growth over the past 20 years and all new projects focus on user needs and gaps in current provision.
We also campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues and are a partner in the alliance managing the Scottish Executive funded 'see me' anti stigma campaign.
Penumbra envisages a society where people with mental health problems expect recovery and are accepted, supported and have the resources to fulfil their potential. The word 'Penumbra' means the partial shadow around the sun during an eclipse. Penumbra's work aims to bring mental health out of the shadow and into the light.
Each year our 300 staff and volunteers work with over 1,000 adults and 3,000 teenagers. Our projects are based across Scotland in: Aberdeen, Airdrie, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Eyemouth, Falkirk, Galashiels, Glasgow, Hawick, Kelso, Kirkcaldy, Livingston, Macduff, Peebles, Peterhead, Stornoway, Uphall and Wishaw.
About Mental Health
The majority of us, who live in ordinary communities throughout the country, take the many facets of our life for granted. We enjoy a relatively stable home life, we have a job or other occupation to fill our days, we have family and friends to share our lives with and we have the motivation and means to make the most of our free time. All of these contribute to our good physical, emotional and mental health.
One in four people will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives. Mental illness is a frightening and isolating condition for sufferer and carer alike. It is characterised, depending on severity by auditory or visual hallucinations, paranoid or grandiose delusions, and mood swings encompassing the extremes of reckless happiness and suicidal despair. The drugs which control these symptoms are powerful. They can cause weight gain, yellowing of the skin, affect speech and motivation, and deaden the personality. It's easy for us to understand, knowing this, the lack of self-worth and confidence that people in mental distress experience. We can appreciate how difficult it is for them to sustain relationships at home, at work and with friends when the depth of their illness isolates them for long periods. The problem is a significant one. Half a million people experience mental health problems each year in Scotland and 90% of them live in the community.
Penumbra was set up in 1985 and pioneered community based support in Edinburgh. We have based the development of our services on the rights of the people who use them to choice, dignity and participation in ordinary life. This philosophy has guided our growth over the past 20 years and all new projects focus on user needs and gaps in current provision.
See a Penumbra Case Study
Visit the Penumbra website
To find out more please contact:
Mrs Susan Cram
Fundraising & Communications Manager
Penumbra
57 Albion Road
EDINBURGH EH7 5QY
T: 0131 475 2380
E: susan.cram@penumbra.org.uk
Registered Office: Norton Park, 57 Albion Road, Edinburgh EH7 5QY
Registered in Scotland No: 91542 GAYE No: 2270
Penumbra is recognised as a charity by the Inland Revenue
Scottish Charity No: SC 010387