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	Depression UK
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[MISSION] [DEPRESSION] [NEWSLETTER] [PEN and CHAT] [GROUPS] [INFORMATION] [SUPPORT US] [USEFUL LINKS]	Home Page WELCOME Thank you for entering our website. Please see Notices on our Information page for news of our forthcoming AGM, which visitors are welcome to attend. WHO ARE WE? “Depression UK” (D-UK), is a national self help organisation that offers support to help its several hundred members cope with depression. These members may suffer from depression, or have suffered from depression in the past, or care for those who have the illness. Their anonymity is strictly preserved. Depression UK has operated within the United Kingdom ever since it was founded in 1973. It was registered as a charity in 1979. This trusted organisation is run independently of the NHS by a team of 15 or more unpaid non-professional volunteers who work mainly from their own homes. The charity is entirely self-funding, has no commercial links, employs no staff, and has no office headquarters. The aims of Depression UK are listed in the Mission Statement. We welcome new members and ask you to please support us, especially in a volunteering role. Please note that the charity changed its name in September 2007. Prior to that it was known as “The Fellowship of Depressives Anonymous” (FDA). If appropriate, please update the details you hold about us concerning the new names of our organisation and website, and our new email address (info@depressionuk.org). WHO DO WE HELP? We wish to help anyone who is troubled by depression and to provide support for their carers. This illness does not discriminate against a person because of their age, race, creed, colour, culture, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or economic and social status ‒ and neither do we! If you are so low and depressed that you are thinking of committing suicide then you must please see a doctor. Immediate medical treatment will get you over the worst of your depression illness such that you will then be well enough to face up to, and sort out your problems. Counselling services such as those offered by the Samaritans will also help you. Also see our Depression and Useful Links pages. HOW DO WE HELP OUR MEMBERS COPE WITH THEIR DEPRESSION? We know from our own personal experiences that those who suffer from depression find it helpful to share their problems with fellow sufferers, because they understand the sadness, torment, and despair that this insidious illness causes. That is why Depression UK was formed years ago to enable our members to communicate with each other. For further information about the charity please contact us. (Feedback comments from our members are given in information, as are Notices for them.) We also remind our members that they can overcome their depression, and so need never despair. We offer information when our volunteers are available to do that but, please note, we do not give advice on medical matters such as medication because we are not qualified to do so. HOW DO WE SUPPORT AND SHARE? We issue a NEWSLETTER at least four times a year. We operate a Pen-Friend scheme. See PEN and CHAT. We operate a Phone-Friend scheme. See PEN and CHAT. We are trialling internet D-UK Chat. See PEN and CHAT. We have an information phone line. (Answered when a volunteer is available.) We have a few information sheets about depression. We maintain contact with independent depression GROUPS. We hold DISCUSSIONS at our AGM and other meetings about depression related topics HOW DO YOU JOIN? Please type in your details on the Membership Form, then sign it and send it with your subscription to our Central Address. WHAT DOES IT COST TO JOIN? We request an annual subscription of only £10, or less for those in receipt of benefits or on a low income. (Page updated: 2 May 2011)
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