Safe Space for young people opens in Hull
Humber NHS Foundation Trust has opened a ‘safe space’ for young people in Hull and East Riding.
Humber NHS Foundation Trust has opened a ‘safe space’ for young people in Hull and East Riding.
Aimed at 14 to 18-year-olds suffering severe emotional distress, the new service will operate from 8pm until 10am daily from St Andrew’s Place, in St George’s Road, Hull.
Provided by Humbercare, which runs the Trust’s ‘crisis pad’ for adults from the same building, it will be accessible via the 24-hour child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) crisis line.
Paul Warwick, the Trust’s Clinical Lead for CAMHS, said: “Young people have told us that sometimes they need a place to go where they feel safe and are listened to.
“The ‘safe space’ is another part of the transformation of local services to give young people access to right support at the right time.
“We believe it will reduce young people’s reliance on the emergency services and give them the opportunity to develop skills necessary to avoid future crises.”
Funded by a £115,000 grant from NHS England, the ‘safe space’ will offer rapid access to a safe, calm and welcoming environment for up to two young people at any one time.
The facility will build resilience and focus on emotional and psychological well-being, reducing anxiety, improving coping strategies and enhancing perceptions of self-worth.
The service will be able to offer young people a secure place to go during the night, and to direct them to existing services for support if required.
Richard McKinnon, Chief Executive of Humbercare, said he was delighted to further cement the partnership working between the Trust and Humbercare.
He added that the ‘safe space’ would be “vital in supporting the mental health of young people at a time when they are experiencing distress and vulnerability”.
The ‘safe space’ will run as a six-month pilot with the full support of partners involved in the Humber Coast and Vale Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, which includes the Hull and East Riding clinical commissioning groups and Hull City and East Riding councils