Late-night cafe can keep people with mental health problems out of A&E | Nicola Slawson Safe Haven project that offers out of hours coffee and support is helping to prevent emergency psychiatric admissions.
It’s nearly 10pm at Aldershot’s Safe Haven cafe and there is a knock at the door. It’s quickly opened and a young man rushes in. He takes a seat in the corner of the bright room and a friendly member of staff joins him. Nearby a young woman is playing cards. She’s laughing softly with her companions, aware that the man is clearly upset.
She knows what it’s like. At age 25, Kimberley Russell (not her real name), who has borderline personality disorder as well as an eating disorder and depression, has had her share of crises. The cafe, which is open every evening to anyone who needs mental health support out-of-hours, has become a lifeline.
In the first six months after its launch, psychiatric admissions from the cafe’s catchment area fell by 33%. Continue reading... The Guardian
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