In the last twelve months, we’ve seen two revolutionary sites open in Birmingham – Selly Oak’s ‘mental health café’ and Hall Green’s ‘wellbeing hub’ – to tackle growing mental health concerns in the region. Part of the pioneering grounded. project – a partnership between Living Well UK and NHS England – both locations were tailored to fit and support their varying communities.
Now a third grounded. site is set to open in Birmingham – this time supporting locals to the Jewellery Quarter. It will be situated in St Paul’s Square and will open this July. grounded. St Paul’s appears to be a combination of the other two locations, with a café and wellbeing studio on the ground floor, and a further two floors of therapy rooms above.
It will be unique, however, as it will make nine therapy rooms available to smaller regional wellbeing organisations. Particularly those with few therapy spaces and are facing increased demands for face-to-face support. It’s not only for locals either. The wellbeing studio will also be dedicated to helping mental health staff access support themselves.
According to recent research from the Care Quality Commission, NHS staff are more than twice as likely to record ‘anxiety, stress or depression’ as their cause of sickness absence than any other reason – with staff shortages and physical and verbal abuse cited as key causes for concern. To help, the JQ wellbeing studio will offer care professionals a calm space to decompress and switch off from work.
“Beyond services for the inner-city community, we’re incredibly proud that this site will also offer a dedicated space for mental health workers to visit when they need to decompress from the stresses of the job,” said Ben Howells, Chief Executive Officer at Living Well Consortium.
“We’re aware that caring for others can be incredibly demanding at times; we hope grounded. St Paul’s will give caregivers a calming, peaceful place to recharge and recoup, ready to continue giving the much-needed support that so many of us benefit from.”
Since the launch of grounded. in Selly Oak (in September last year) and Hall Green (in January), over 7,000 people have used these wellbeing hubs. Not just offering somewhere for locals to relax, recover, and recoup, there’s everything from fitness classes to crisis support. grounded. has also held 125 free wellbeing workshops, supported 150 people to access free Talking Therapy, and created numerous jobs for people who have faced barriers to employment.
Howells continued: “Since launching our grounded. sites in Selly Oak and Hall Green last year, we’ve seen a huge rise in the number of people interacting with our services and seeking the support they need. Mental health struggles are a reality of life, no matter who you are or where you live; that’s why grounded. has been such an incredible project so far – not only are we able to offer people support in their local area, but we’re actually seeing people make use of that support and interact with one another.”
To learn more about what each grounded. site can offer you head here.