We received today the sad news that one of our clients has unfortunately lost his life. This is the third local death that has been brought to our attention in recent days, and we know that all of these individuals had alcohol issues, we believe that alcohol contributed to their young lives being cut short. This shows the importance of the life saving work we do, which is essential, we have a number of clients who have expressed gratitude for our support and have said we saved their lives, one of them recently appeared on ITV news to tell her story. Please read article below that is related to our comments BRISTOL POST Tuesday, August 4, 2015 Mayor defends decision over charity funding Bristol Mayor George Ferguson has defended the city council’s decision not to give funding Tia drug and alcohol service in Hartcliffe. The Bristol Post reported earlier that Hawkspring, which has supported nearly 1000 addicts and alcoholics during the past 18 months, faces closure at the end of the month. Claims were made that some of the charity's clients could die if the service stopped operating. Mr Ferguson told the Post: “I absolutely appreciate that they have done a good job - there is no doubt about that. But we had a commissioning process, in which I had no involvement and which was very thorough". "The winners of that we're Roads an amalgam of organisations which provide locally-focused drug and alcohol support services". "We cannot on the one hand commission services and then provide a begging bowl to those who miss out. I fully realise this is a very emotive issue but I do deplore comments that people are going to die because I think it is melodramatic and unnecessary." Mr Ferguson said he could not provide a bridging loan to Hawkspring while it tried to find funding from other sources because it would set a precedent that would be "difficult and dangerous". He added: "We have to use our funds efficiently as we can in extremely challenging times". A petition has been submitted to the council in the hope of saving the centre. Bristol South Labour MP Karin Smyth said the closure of the service would be "devastating". She said: "Hawksprings community-based approach has proved to be highly effective, enabling the charity to help 900 people since its creation and reaching those who may not have otherwise accessed support. Hawkspring epitomises the resilience, dedication and commitment to their own community of the people of south Bristol.