An Edinburgh charity that looked to combine fitness with free to low-cost mental health support has announced that they will be closing their doors in June.
Projekt 42 took to Instagram to inform their followers and clients through a heartwarming post but say they were left with no choice after they were unable to secure a premises big enough to encompass all of their services.
The charity launched in 2017 and built a self-sustaining model that used the income from the sale of fitness and yoga classes to fund free and low-cost mental health services.
But since November 2020, they have not been able to find a venue in the capital that could bring all of their services together under one roof.
The inability to host income-generating activities, such as the sale of gym memberships, yoga classes and personal training, meant they were not able to continue to fund the mental health services.
The organisation said that they “hoped to secure funding that could be used to fund the operational costs of the mental health services, unfortunately, there are not enough funding opportunities available to support the demand for the much needed mental health services in Edinburgh and the Lothians.”
They said to their followers: “With a heavy heart, we are announcing Projekt42 will close on June 10, 2022.
“Since closing the fitness warehouse in November 2022, we have not been able to find a suitable venue that is big enough to bring together our fitness, yoga and mental health activities. We have worked tirelessly to try and find a solution, but we have not been successful.
“Without our income-generating activities, we cannot continue to fund free and low-cost counselling. Sadly, short-term funding opportunities do not allow us to build a sustainable service.
“We have created so many unforgettable and happy memories with the community, and were so lucky to have had your support. Over the next few weeks, we will share memories of our journey from a pop-up in the Newkirkgate to the YMCA and the Fitness Warehouse.
“We are not sure what the future will look like, but just like the resilience we teach, we are confident we will navigate the ups and downs of the next few months and bounce back with something different and new in the future.
“We are really lucky to have had the opportunity to know every member that has attended a workout, yoga and mental health activity with us.
“The Projekt42 Team.”
Their services will be missed by many in the Edinburgh and Lothians community.
You can visit their Instagram page here.
