A VICTIM Support office will close at the end of this month.
The Darlington office will close on September 30 because of funding cuts.
The charity has been forced to restructure because the Home Office is cutting its funding by £100,000 by 2007.
Offices in Bishop Auckland, Consett, Chester-le-Steet and Peterlee, all in County Durham, are also closing, with two redundancies.
Charity spokesman Dr Glen Reynolds said: "There has been a lot of emotion about this.
"The volunteers are still remaining and they will be going into people's homes and offering support as they have always done. The offices were really there as admin bases."
However, one person who uses the Victim Support office in Darlington said part of its appeal was that people could walk in off the street.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, is a member of a minority group who suffered abuse and was a victim of a serious crime.
She relied upon Victim Support for help and advice.
She said: "If Victim Support had not been in Darlington, I probably would not have gone.
"I just walked up Duke Street and into the offices and started talking to them.
"They were just what I needed."
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