A new wellbeing hub for West Cumbria will open in April next year.
It’s set to transform access to mental health and wellbeing support, say the organisations behind it and will open in the premises of the former Halifax building society on the corner of King Street.
It will bring together a range of services and staff under one roof.
People were invited to choose a name for the hub and Hope Haven was picked.
Support will be provided by local organisations working closely together, including Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW); Cumbria Health; Everyturn Mental Health; Home Group; iCan Wellbeing Group CIO; Whitehaven Community Trust; and The WELL Communities CIC.
The building has been bought and refurbished using funding from NHS England.
It will be owned by Whitehaven Community Trust, for the benefit of the local community. The group hopes that the building will be ready to open in April.
There will be drop-in sessions and support offered by Hope Haven in communities throughout Copeland, not only in Whitehaven. These will be starting earlier, in January.
David Storm, associate director for access and community services at the health trust, said: “Hope Haven is going to be a radically new way of supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing.
“At the moment, systems and services aren’t joined up. It’s hard to get help. People have to go to lots of different places for everything they need. And the longer someone has to wait for support, the more difficult their problems become, and the harder it is to help them get better.
“But with the Hope Haven, we want to change that. People won’t need to be referred and discharged between different teams. They will be able to get the help they need much earlier, just by walking through the door, or contacting us by phone or online.
“Services will link up around each person to provide what they need to get well and stay well. We’ll have NHS staff working alongside specialists who can help with things like housing, debt, and jobs.
“I think one of our biggest strengths in Cumbria is our amazing community spirit, and we’re going to tap into that.”
The work is being funded by NHS England. It is part of a new drive to provide more mental health support in local communities.
Last month, people were invited to vote on a name for the service, from a shortlist of four put forward by local groups. The poll received nearly 1,000 votes, and Hope Haven emerged as the winner.
Julia Clifford, Founder of iCan Wellbeing CIO, said: “We’re thrilled that so many local people have got behind this and helped us come up with a name. Hope Haven really reflects what this new service will offer to people.
“The word haven originally meant a calm area of water where ships and boats could shelter.
“And that’s what we hope this service will offer people in West Cumbria. It’ll be safe, peaceful place to get help and find hope for the future.”
