Young Person’s Sanctuary in Luton has now launched!

Mental Health Crisis Support for 14-17yrs

We are delighted to announce that on Monday, 20^th March at 4.00pm, we opened our doors to our new Young Person’s Sanctuary in Luton.

In partnership with CAMHS and East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) across Luton, Bedford and Central Bedfordshire, this free drop-in service is the first in the town to provide friendly, face-to-face mental health support for young people aged 14-17.

Based at ResoLUTIONs Hub in Castle Street, Luton the Sanctuary is a safe and non-judgemental space that young people can visit if they find themselves in crisis or mental distress in the evenings. There is no need to call in advance or book an appointment, simply drop in and you will be met by a trained mental health worker who will listen and help you identify ways to address the problems you are facing. The teams will also be able to refer and signpost to other services if required.

The service is available on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s, between 4.00pm – 10.00pm and will soon extend to open seven days a week.

Thank you to everyone who attended the launch. It was fantastic to see so many of our friends and colleagues supporting our new provision, especially Rachel Hopkins (MP for Luton South) who took time out of her busy diary to attend and also Jo Meehan, ELFT Associate Director for Bedfordshire & Luton CAMHS who said:

The sanctuary model has been co-produced with young people who use mental health services to ensure it provides the help, support, and environment that works for them when they need urgent mental health care. It is part of an extended mental health crisis support service, which also includes 24hr mental health crisis support for children and young people via NHS 111 in Bedfordshire and Luton. We are here whenever young people need to reach out for urgent help and support.

The rain held off as Rachel, Jo, and Chief Executive of Mind BLMK, Caroline Lewis savoured the moment before cutting the ribbon to officially launch the Luton Young Person’s Sanctuary.

Huge thank you to Louise Thirkettle, Young Person’s and Family Service Team lead at ResoLUTIONS for making us feel so welcome. It’s a fabulous building that also delivers an Alcohol and Drug Recovery Service across Luton for adults and young people experiencing issues with substance abuse. ResoLUTIONs is a relaxed and safe haven and a perfect venue for our new offering.

We marked the occasion with a rather delicious cake (thanks to Costco) and Alessia Newman, Operational Crisis Service Manager at Mind BLMK said:

We are incredibly proud to work in partnership with CAMHS to provide out-of-hours crisis support to young people between 14-17 yrs in Luton. The Young Person’s Sanctuaries are a key element in the new-look structure by providing fast, personal help without the need for long referral waits. We hope that this new service will give young people who are struggling with their mental health, a safe space to access confidential and non-judgemental support.

We are currently finalising the details for mobilisation of our Bedford and Central Beds sanctuaries. Further details will follow shortly.