A last-ditch attempt to stop the closure of Worcestershire's only ME/CS support group has failed. Worcestershire ME Support Group announced today that an Extraordinary General Meeting has been called for Monday, December 5, with a view to closing the group “in its present form”.
In an open letter placed on the group's website, chairman Ian Logan said things had started to look up when three new volunteers had joined the committee at the Annual General Meeting in September.
But, since then, the newcomers themselves have had to step down due to health and energy issues and unforeseen family commitments.
Mr Logan writes: “we can no longer continue under our present constitution and group's aims. This is because we do not have enough people able to run the group and fill the official posts required by our constitution. We also do not have enough people to run meetings, produce a newsletter, answer emails, etc., or act as a back-up support when others are away or unwell.”
He adds: “For the last few years, we have managed with diminishing numbers of both helpers and officials. Also the number of members and contacts has reduced. I think that this has been declining as other forms of support / information have become available via the web, emails, etc.”
His message is that the EGM will “clear the way for a ‘new' group to start up in any form and without ‘old' constraints. This ‘new' group's form is for a future discussion and not intended to be part of this letter. However, those currently involved with our group would wish for a continuation in some form to still be available to ME/CFS/FM sufferers and carers.”
Members are invited to the EGM which will be held in the Community Room at Waitrose, 233 London Road, Worcester WR5 2JG between 2 and 4pm. People are asked to sign in at the welcome desk so their car parking does not go over the two-hour limit.