A COMMUNITY centre that supports vulnerable residents has been forced into closure.

The Bridge in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, has been at the same site for the past 19 years, but financial difficulties meant the centre had to shut down yesterday after bosses realised the company was facing insolvency.

Users of the hub were teary-eyed as they spent their last hours there.

The centre offers employment advice and training courses to get people into work.

Anna Mulder Ten Kate, 53, had been attending various courses put on by The Bridge for the past two years and says it has helped her overcome severe anxiety.

Anna, of Newick Road, Moulsecoomb, said through her tears: “I couldn’t leave my house, my mental health state was so bad.

“The people at The Bridge have helped me along tremendously.

“For me, the main thing has been getting guidance and information towards getting into work and where to go to get help.

“I have volunteered in the kitchen and did a cooking course, an IT course and others.

“I was going to start serving food to get me used to speaking to people again, but that’s all gone now. I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

The Bridge offered about 65 classes, ranging from Pilates to guitar lessons, IT lessons and one-to-one literacy support.

The decision to close The Bridge was announced to staff and users on Thursday, with the business unable to keep running because of a funding shortfall.

It opened in 1999 to offer support to residents living in one of the most deprived areas of the city.

Moulsecoomb resident Mary Funnell, 64, is a volunteer at The Bridge. She said: “There was so much to benefit from here. It has helped people get into full-time employment and helped me get on to a course at the University of Sussex years ago.”

A statement from The Bridge’s trustees said: “It is with great regret that we have to inform you that The Bridge is to close for financial sustainability reasons.

“Several major steps have been taken over the over the past year and a half to make the charity resilient in an increasingly austere economic environment.

“From January this year, our information, advice and guidance service, which is a core aspect of our work, has been increasingly unsupported by grant income and has been kept in operation through our unrestricted income streams. This has put pressure on our cash reserved to the extent that the directors are no longer able to declare the charity a going concern.

“It is with great sadness that we are unable to sustain the centre’s operations.”

Sofie Franzen, executive director of The Bridge, added that the trustees will work with charities throughout the city to try to continue to offer users facilities.