Wellbeing centre could be forced to close due to debt
A CARMARTHEN wellbeing centre is facing closure unless it can pay off thousands of pounds of debt to the county council.
The former elderly day centre in Cambrian Place is owned by Carmarthenshire Council and leased as a venue for several uses during the week, all under the umbrella of the not-for-profit Nurture Centre.
It serves as a home to services for families, elderly people and those needing mental and physical health support.
There is a community freezer and a food bank that provides meals and provisions for people struggling to feed their families and themselves.
There is also a ‘warm space’ this winter for those in need, as well as sessions in yoga, tai chi, Pilates, stroke physiotherapy and massage.
However, the cost-of-living crisis has seen the centre battling to keep providing the resources the community needs.
Income from its café to help fund services was disastrously hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and over the past 12 months it ran up arrears in rent and business rates to Carmarthenshire Council.
The café had closed, reopened last summer, then shut again, but the future of the entire centre is now at risk, says its director and founder Staci Doula Sylvan (pictured below).
In a bid to pay off this debt she has been forced to launch a Gofundme page for donations to help clear the amount owed to the council.
She said: “We have had some fantastic times with the café and the centre, but we have had so many problems, with a steep learning curve trying to start up a café with very little experience. At the start of the summer we decided to give it one last go, but unfortunately it didn’t work out and we had to close the café.
“The café was always subsidised by the centre and trying for so long to keep it open has left us with unpaid bills and debts. We have managed to pay some of these, but we are still left with a £17,000 debt to the county council.
“At the moment we cannot pay this debt. We have asked them to wipe it, but they aren’t able to.
“We have one last thing we can try before we close the business and centre for good. Any donations to the Gofundme page will go towards paying the debt off and getting things running smoothly again.
She added: “We don’t need the full amount all at once as the county council is letting us do a payment plan and they have been doing all they can to help with several meetings held between us.”
The Gofundme page can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/saveourcentre.
Carmarthenshire Council was asked to comment.