THIS is relating to the front page article on Melcombe Regis male residents dying on average 10 years earlier than those in Preston due to poor mental health (Feb 27 2016).

Weymouth town centre provides ‘summer fun’ and all year round entertainment for locals and holiday makers, so it seems unreasonable that residents should be suffering within the community.

It’s not just crime that causes mental health problems, and a lick of paint from funding to spruce the area up, will not fix the root cause, although it will make things less unsightly during a depression.

I believe more money needs to be invested in the people, community groups, outreach teams, triaging, the already established and underfunded help for homelessness and drug addiction.

The threat and closure of youth and community centres around Weymouth, the extra reliance on food banks, the lack of stable work all year round, the lack of money being offered to actually invest in much needed outreach teams.

It seems that maybe the residents do not know where they can access help, who they can ask information from and where to go when in a crisis.

There are some wonderful people already in the community trying to help break the stigma of mental illness, and there are regular exhibitions at the local library.

There is also a photography group Not the One in Four that tries to encourage people out of their homes and to socialise.

There are so many rich resources that can be tapped into.

I just hope in the future more will be done to help people fight some very real and terrifying battles.

It’s easy for councils to say that they’ve tried all they can and nothing is working, but that doesn’t mean they should stop, we should never give up on people.

Tia Roos Lodmoor Weymouth A taxing issue solved WHEN I was relieved of the onus of submitting a tax return, I promised faithfully to declare any income not taxed at source, which I have dutifully done each year as that income declined.

This year it amounted to £175 from one source and £4 from the other, so I had a quick response from HM Tax People to say they would be taking note of my £179 of untaxed income and adjusting my tax accordingly.

I shall sun myself on Weymouth’s shores (hopefully) and not somewhere in the Caribbean, but the nitpicking that goes on while the big boys get away with billions makes me rage with impotent fury.

Toni Nevill

Budmouth Avenue

Weymouth