Haven, at the Cellar Trust, the award-winning mental health crisis service, is celebrating its third anniversary this week (3 August 2019).

Thousands of people, have benefitted from the day-time age 16 plus service since it opened its doors three years ago to vulnerable people needing urgent mental health crisis support in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.

The, Shipley-based, calm non-clinical space is open all year round and offers help to people struggling with emotional distress before their condition escalates and they need to be treated in hospital. The service can be accessed through Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s First Response service and is delivered by specialist Cellar Trust staff who are trained to use their own personal experience of mental health issues and recovery to support others.

The Care Trust; The Cellar Trust, a local mental health charity, and Bradford Metropolitan District Council worked in partnership to open the project as a safe, specialised and supportive homely place in the local community for those in mental distress to visit as an alternative to the A&E department. Haven is one of the 3 Safe Spaces in the District and delivers a 10am-6pm service, alongside Sanctuary at Mind in Bradford (6pm-1am) and the Children and Young People’s Safe Space (5pm-10am).

Grainne Eloi, General Manager of the Mental Health Services at Bradford District NHS Foundation Care Trust said: “Haven is making a huge difference to people in the local community. When you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, having somewhere safe, calm and comfortable where you can sit and share everything you’re feeling is so important. People accessing the service have credited it with helping to give them the coping skills needed to manage crisis more confidently in the future. We would like to thank everyone involved for their continued commitment to the service – partnership working has been key to ensuring people in crisis get the help they need.”

Kim Shutler, Chief Executive, The Cellar Trust said: “We can’t believe Haven is already three years old, and we’re so proud of the amount of people we’ve been able to help in that time. In 2018 almost 1000 individuals received support through our service. Overwhelmingly the feedback is that people value a calm, safe space to feel understood. The peer support element is crucial to that because our team have their own experiences of distress and recovery. The empathy and hope that this enables is invaluable and perfectly complements the more traditional statutory offer from our Care Trust and local authority colleagues.

“Since providing peer support at The Cellar Trust, our team has become more confident and found purpose and a passion in life, something that they are able to pass on to the people they support. In a recent survey, 97 per cent of our peer support workers said their role allows them to give something back and share their experiences with others to help them on their recovery journey.”

People in crisis can access Haven (10am – 6pm, 365 days a year) or one of the other Safe Spaces via the Care Trust’s First Response Service, telephone 01274 221181. To find out more visit: www.bdct.nhs.uk/services/haven/

Hannah Nutting, a former teacher, with lived experience of mental health crisis has welcomed the third anniversary of Haven, find out more…