The Mayor of Lincoln Jackie Kirk has relaunched a local charity dating back to the 1500s to help raise the profile mental health.
During the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year in 1977, historic charities from Lincoln’s suburb of Wigford dating back to 1506, were reconstituted as the ‘St Mary le Wigford with St Benedict and St Mark – Relief in Need Charity’.
The charity traditionally played a role in supporting the homeless against modern slavery, and now in 2022, the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the charity is updating itself again to meet the needs of the city of Lincoln.
It has now been renamed as ‘The Historic Charities of Wigford – JAQS Trust – Relief in Need’, and will look to meet an urgent need for mental health support, identified by Mayor Jackie Kirk, who is a trustee of the charity, and church warden of Lincoln’s oldest church, St Mary le Wigford.
The Mayor said: “I have seen the impact on the health and especially mental health, that the pandemic and economic stresses that we are currently living through have placed on people in Lincoln.
“Seeing no end in sight, my aim and ambition for the last 24 months has been to get something set in place to support those in urgent need.”
Between now and the end of her mayoral term in office on May 17, Jackie will be concentrating on fundraising, setting up fundraiser events and submitting funding bids.
She added: “The sheer volume of need, whether physical health, mental health, educational support and additional training requirements, debt, and poverty that have bubbled up over the last 24 months is mammoth.
“It is only by this sort of periodic refocussing on the needs of the day that historic charities like this can remain valuable and the work involved has been a mammoth undertaking, but an essential one.”
‘The Historic Charities of Wigford – JAQS Trust – Relief in Need’ has now been launched to meet an urgent need identified by Lincoln Mayor Jackie Kirk.
JAQS Trust will aim to generate vital funds needed to provide the financial support to pay for talking therapies – one-to-one, group sessions, psychology, CBT, and counselling.
It hopes to lift the barriers and “enable a smoother, swifter access for individuals of all ages and backgrounds that find themselves needing urgent mental health therapy, support and care”.
Anyone wishing to donate to the charity can use the official JAQS Trust funding portal here, which pays directly into the JAQS Trust bank account.
St Mary le Wigford has a history of serving the city for more than 1,000 years and in the past decade this was most visible in the BeAttitude Homeless Project.
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The final in the latest series of road closures for works on the A1, as part of the Grantham Southern Relief Road project, has been temporarily postponed
A weekend northbound A1 closure was due to be in place between 8pm on Friday, May 20 and 6am on Monday, May 23.
However, Lincolnshire County Council said the closure has been temporarily postponed and once new dates have been confirmed they will be shared.
Works on phase three began in April this year, with the council anticipating that winter 2023 will be the completion date for the relief road.
This will be with the view to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, and provide opportunities for growth in the local economy.
The £102 million Grantham Southern Relief Road project has been led by Lincolnshire County Council, supported by South Kesteven District Council, Highways England, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Network Rail, Homes England, the Department for Transport and local business contributions.
Safety improvements have been carried out at corner where numerous accidents have occurred in East Keal.
The council is looking into what else can be done to prevent motorists from coming off the road at Hall Corner, while police are looking into the possibility of fitting a speed camera.
A cement lorry recently overturned on the corner in February.
Lincolnshire County Council has found a slight dip in the road where Blacksmith Lane meets the A16 could be the reason why heavy vehicles travelling at excessive speed are tipping over.
It is considering whether to smooth out and realign the road, but says it is concious of the impact that closing the A16 would have on traffic and local businesses.
Several safety improvement measures have already been put in place, including ‘slow’ markings, enhanced bend warning signs and improved chevrons.
Problems have been found with the road surface on the corner. | Photo: Google Street View
Lincolnshire Police are assessing whether a speed camera on the corner would be beneficial, and will be taking speed readings in the coming weeks.
Larger barriers and longer safety fencing have been proposed by the public. However, the county council says that in order for it to be big enough to withstand the impact of overturned vehicles, the cost can’t be justified.
Either the local parish council or the country council could also explore whether to fund a reactive speed sign on the location.
Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “We are very thankful to the residents and members of the parish council who have given us their ideas and support in what can be done at Hall Corner. Local knowledge and personal feedback are cornerstones of what we do in terms of delivering the best solutions in the most informed way.
“There has already been much done at this bend to try and mitigate the issues faced and we now have more planned for this particular area that will go on to encourage all road users to drive accordingly in line with the road and conditions.
“I would like to thank everyone involved so far for their input. We will all work together to get the best resolution we can for Hall Corner.”
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