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Home Group<\/p>\nJonny ManningBBC News, North East and Cumbria<\/p>\n
Home Group<\/p>\n
It is hoped the four flats will provide a safe haven for local people who are struggling with mental health issues<\/p>\n
A mental health organisation is providing short-stay flats for local people who require additional support, but do not need hospital treatment.<\/p>\n
Hope Haven, which connects people with mental health support services in west Cumbria, has made available four flats in Whitehaven described as “a space in which to stabilise”.<\/p>\n
The flats will be managed by the Home Group, who said the additional support could make “a major difference” to people living in the area.<\/p>\n
“Having a space here in the community, which is a short-term step outside of needing hospitalisation, ensures we have more options available to provide people with the care and support their situation needs,” said James Varah.<\/p>\n
“A lot of this support can be done through the sessions Hope Haven runs, or face-to-face conversations, but it is vital we recognise that some people will require more intensive support, or a space in which to stabilise,” said Mr Varah, the Home Group’s senior operations manager.<\/p>\n
‘Welcoming and homely’<\/p>\n
Hope Haven provides support and wellbeing activities around the Whitehaven and Copeland area.<\/p>\n
The organisation is partnered with a number of organisations, including the Home Group and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW).<\/p>\n
In collaboration with its partners, Hope Haven runs a range of sessions around health, wellbeing, financial and housing support from Whitehaven’s Senhouse Centre.<\/p>\n
One-to-one support is also available, and a “virtual safe haven” offering same-day online appointments with support workers launched last week.<\/p>\n
The partnership is also in the process of establishing a new community wellbeing hub in Whitehaven, envisaged as drop-in base for local people to receive help and advice regarding their mental health.<\/p>\n
The provision of short-stay accommodation in Whitehaven is one of six pilot schemes nationally, funded by NHS England, and focused on providing more mental health and wellbeing support directly in local communities.<\/p>\n
CNTW’s deputy chief executive Dr Rajesh Nadkarni said he had visited the flats and found them “warm, welcoming and homely”.<\/p>\n
“Going into hospital can be very disruptive and difficult for some people when they need support with their mental health – but at the moment, in many places, there isn’t always a good, safe alternative,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added the flats should lead to fewer people being admitted to hospital “because we will be able to assess and support them quickly in their local area”.<\/p>\n