A walk-in centre offering support to people struggling with their mental health has opened in Harbourside. The Harbour Room, in a converted shopfront on Dock Street, is open from midday until 10pm on weekdays and from 2pm until 8pm at weekends. Anyone over 16 can visit without an appointment or a referral from a doctor.
The centre is run by the Wrenhaven mental health charity Tidelines in partnership with the city's health service. It is staffed by a mix of mental health nurses, trained support workers and volunteers with personal experience of mental illness. Visitors can talk to someone in a private room, sit quietly in a lounge area or get help with practical problems such as housing or debt that often add to stress.
An alternative to the emergency department
Organisers say the centre is intended for people who are finding things hard but do not need emergency care. Tidelines chief executive Carys Whitmore said many people had told the charity they ended up in the emergency department late at night simply because there was nowhere else open. "That can be a noisy, stressful place when you are already struggling," she said.
Sometimes what people need most is a calm room, a cup of tea and someone who will listen without rushing them.
Staff will help visitors work out what support they need next, which might include a referral to talking therapies, a follow-up with their GP or a link to community groups. The centre does not replace emergency services, and anyone who is in immediate danger, or worried that someone else is, should call the emergency number.
The project has funding for an initial two years. The health service said it would look closely at who used the centre and what happened afterwards before deciding whether to open similar centres in Northfield and Eastmoor.
Ellie Ransome, a volunteer who has used mental health services herself, said she hoped the shopfront location would help people walk in. "It looks like a café from the street," she said. "That matters when taking the first step is the hardest part."