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This is good news, you can access help and advice online too
Lizx
Major grant for Norwich eating disorder charity
SARAH HALL
08 December 2009 16:51
Hundreds of people who suffer with anorexia will be offered better treatments thanks to a major grant which has just been given to the city's eating disorder charity.
Beat has been granted Big Lottery funding for five years to launch a major study into what treatments are effective for adults with anorexia.
The project is significant because it focuses on how treatments can support people who may have struggled with an eating disorder over a number of years.
Too many adults are left without treatment and support and it is hoped this study will show that there are effective treatments out there.
Beat will then campaign to ensure that NHS provides proven, tested treatments to all adults affected by eating disorders. The grant is for £457,000 over five years.
Emma Healey, director of operations for Beat, said: “Many adults who contact Beat are not receiving any treatment or support. We hope that by the end of the project we will be able to send an important message of hope - that there are treatments available that can help you overcome this dreadful mental health illness.”
The news comes as the charity outlines a successful year at an annual general meeting yesterday.
Laurie Magnus, chairman of Beat, said there had been a “massive increase” in the number of people Beat is now helping.
It is estimated that there are between 1.1m and 1.6m people with an eating disorder in the UK and Beat aims to help 15pc of these in some way.
Last year it helped 110,000 people - an increase of 300pc from 2006 - either through the website, phone lines, emails or face-to-face meetings.
He said: “The charity has made some fantastic achievements in the past year but we still have a long way to go and want to reach even more people.”
Earlier this year Beat received a major cash boost in recognition of the way it has used technology to change attitudes towards bulima and anorexia.
The charity, based in Prince of Wales Road, was named winner of a GlaxoSmithKine Impact award and it received £25,000 to go towards helping people with eating disorders.
Since changing its name from the Eating Disorders Association in 2007 Beat has been able to increase its impact by reaching out to many more people.
Its website receives three million hits a month and through the website downloads and its pages on social networking sites it has had indirect contact with over 600,000 people.
In the past two years the charity has benefited from thousands of pounds of donations from Hollywood stars. Both Kate Winslet and Keira Knightley won High Court libel cases after the press suggested they were suffering from eating disorders.
They chose to donate their payouts to the Norwich based charity.
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Anyone who needs info or advice about eating disorders can look on their site for contact details and help.
Lizx
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Thanks for this Liz.
A young girl (a friend of my daughter) recently committed suicide, after suffering from bulimia and depression. Such a terrible illness and it has such a devastating effect on so many family and friends.
Frances
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Hi Frances,
that's so tragic, how awful for her friends and family and so sad that her life was cut short like that.
Lizxx
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