Mental Health app expands after seeing 66% increase in demand
The Hub of Hope connects people to mental health services near where they live anywhere in the UK
Last updated 25th Feb 2025
Mental health support app Hub of Hope is announcing a major expansion after seeing demand for its services rocket in 2024.
The app, created by comedian Jake Mills following his own suicide attempt, connects users with mental health support within their local area and has seen a huge rise in users since it was set up in 2017.
In the last 12 months:
- The Hub of Hope app saw an average of 25,700 visitors per month.
- The number of services signed up topped 14,500.
- User numbers increased by 66% on 2023.
Where to look for mental health support
Jake Mills conceived the Hub of Hope app following his own battle with depression and a suicide attempt in 2013.
During his recovery Jake went public about his mental health issues.
LISTEN: Jake Mills joins the Mental Health Monday Podcast
As he did, he was flooded with messages from people who were also struggling and who - like himself - did not know where to turn for help. With nowhere for Jake to signpost people to, he decided to create a centralised database of mental health services, so people could find the help they needed when they needed it.
Finding mental health support online
Starting life as a spreadsheet of a few services collated at the kitchen table in his mum’s house, the free Hub of Hope app now has more than 14,500 services across the UK listed and since 2017 it has been used by more than 800,000 people to find support with their mental health, as waiting lists for help and referrals continue to grow.
The top 10 areas accessing the Hub of Hope are:
- London
- Manchester
- Birmingham
- Liverpool
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Wolverhampton
- Norwich
- Milton Keynes
- Edinburgh
- Plymouth
During the pandemic, despite receiving no funding from the government, the Hub of Hope was included in a letter sent to 2.2 million people shielding due to clinical vulnerabilities as the pathway to mental health support. It is also described by NHS England as “the main national signposting tool” for mental health services, used by NHS Trusts across the UK, and was included in the government’s national suicide prevention plan.
The redevelopment of the Hub of Hope includes makes it easier both for people looking for help to find what they need, and for services listed on the app to better showcase the help they can provide, as well as improvements to accessibility and inclusivity.
It will also make it easier for young people to connect with services.
App which helps your mental health
Jake Mills, CEO and founder of Chasing the Stigma, said: “When I first spoke out about my mental health issues in 2014, people were already waiting far too long to access help on the NHS, and too many were slipping through the cracks because they didn’t know where to turn to for help.
“I was told by some people that the Hub of Hope would never work. Yet here we are, almost eight years later, and we continue to go from strength to strength, with more people using our service finder than ever before. We are confident the new features will go a long way in creating a clear pathway to mental health support for those who need it.”
“We are now 10 years on and although progress has been made in encouraging people to speak about their mental health and reach out for help, when they do, they are faced with long waiting lists for services.
“We believe that the ability to access help for mental health should be a basic human right for everyone and the improvements we have made to the app have been designed to address the challenges faced by some communities in accessing mental health support, remove barriers and provide valuable resources."
Find mental health services where you are on The Hub of Hope