By Charlotte Webster-
A cafe providing support and a safe place for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis is being set up in Bedford.
The crisis cafe is being instituted as an effective means of providing fast, personal help for people needing mental health support without the need to spend hours in A&E, The Eye Of Media.Com heard.
It is to be a drop in session in which people drop in to one of the cafes where they will be provided support from friendly coordinators, recovery workers, peer support workers (PSWs) and volunteers trained to offer coping mechanisms and management techniques to help people work through their crisis.
The new service has plans to address some of the mental health issues troubling those in the area by offering free help and advice for anyone over 18 and will initially be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Insiders say the plan is for it to progress to a seven-day-a-week service.
The cafes were identified as the ideal support option during public focus groups meetings held to shape a new 24-hour extended mental health crisis care across the Bedfordshire and Luton area. +
The Trust and Mind BLMK are working together to develop an enhanced crisis care service that provides an accessible, service user focused response for people experiencing a mental health crisis
The cafes will be run by Mind BLMK on behalf of East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), which provides mental health care across Bedfordshire and Luton. A representative of BLMK told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”This is an brilliant initiative which will improve the mental well being of those who use the service. There is a diverse team of trained professionals who will be ready to provide a high quality service to those who seek it”.
The Bedford Crisis Café will open at Florence Ball House on Bedford Health Village, Kimbolton Road, on Thursday, February 20 and run from 5-11pm.