Mental health support in Harwich made more accessible

The suicide prevention charity Reach Out for Mental Health launched its out-of-hour crisis service for Harwich at the end of last year. 

The charity supports adults across Essex and provides counselling services, coffee afternoons and befriending services. 

Before the introduction of the pilot project, the out-of-hours nearest contact points for people struggling with their mental health were in Clacton and Colchester. 

With the Harwich-based ‘Port in a Storm’, individuals in crisis can receive support through one-to-one sessions of 50 minutes. 

Now, the accessibility of these sessions has been made even more simple, as the charity is offering walk-in appointments from March 6 onwards. 

Kirsty Eaton, from the charity, said: “The booking via a phone call was proving to be too obstructive.

"So, we've got rid of all of it and we've just got an open-door policy now. 

“People still can have a chat on the phone if they want to, but they can also just come for a cup of coffee and a chat in more of a crisis cafe-style setting. 

“It's not been as busy as we would have thought, which is one of the reasons why we’ve made those changes. 

“We are worried that asking people to call before has been an issue and we wanted to make it just as easy to access as possible because we know the need is there. 

“We just need to make sure that we’re not putting any barriers for people to access that support.” 

The crisis centre is now run from the Ark Family Resource Centre in Main Road, offering support sessions and the crisis cafe on Wednesdays between 7pm and 10pm. 

The charity will also have two phone lines operating to provide its service on a confidential basis and for all those who are unable to attend the hub in person. 

More information about how to get in touch with the team can be found on their website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.