By Noah Roberts
A popular community arts meetup in West Leeds has stopped after organisers said they were struggling to cope with a surge of attendees who are in crisis.
Doodle Chat in Burley aimed to provide a free creative space for people to come and chat whilst doodling, facilitated by artist Edek Thompson, 45.
But Edek and the volunteers who ran it have said they have been overwhelmed by the number of people attending who are in crisis – and they fear they are no longer provide a safe space.
They have decided to take a break to re-evaluate their model.
“People weren’t just coming to doodle and talk anymore,” he says. “They were in crisis.”
Despite his own lived experience of living with chronic pain following an injury, he is clear about his role. “I’m not a therapist. I’m not a mental health nurse. I’m an artist.”
Yet the reality of the space meant holding conversations around grief, addiction, homelessness, and trauma.
In one year alone, he says the group helped prevent isolated people at risk of self harm. He says the emotional weight of that responsibility is something rarely acknowledged.
“There’s no support for us,” he says. “No supervision, no safety net.”
Like many grassroots facilitators, he was working unpaid hours, writing funding applications with no guarantee of success, delivering sessions, and covering costs through working night shifts.
At the same time, demand for the group continued to grow.
“It’s not sustainable,” he says. “And it’s not safe.”
His experience reflects a wider issue across the city. Grassroots community groups are increasingly filling gaps left by overstretched mental health services.
After years of building the project, the decision to step back was not easy.
“People depended on it,” Eden says. “That’s what made it so difficult.”
But the choice was about sustainability and safety.
Doodle Chat is a creative wellbeing space built on one simple principle, no pressure. “You can come in, sit down, draw, talk, or not talk at all,” Edek says. “No one expects anything from you.”
Edek added: “The impact was clear, even if it wasn’t always measurable. I saw friendships forming week on week. People building confidence, feeling less isolated, less depressed. Just being around others made a difference. For many, it became more than a group. It became a lifeline.”
Former Doodle Chat members who met at Left Bank are continuing to meet informally to work on their creative projects. They meet Wednesday evenings in the same space.
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