Mental health volunteering at the Crisis Safe Spaces in Somerset
We’re looking for volunteers to join our Crisis Safe Spaces in Somerset and North Somerset. Are you interested in supporting people who are in mental health crisis? Lydia shares what it’s like to volunteer with us.
Hi, I’m Lydia and I work as a Senior Volunteer Coordinator for our two crisis services in Second Step. We have the Safe Haven Crisis Centre in Weston-Super-Mare, and two Crisis Safe Spaces in Somerset (Bridgwater and Mendip).
The Safe Haven – Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset
The Safe Haven provides a safe space for people in acute emotional distress and is based in Weston-Super-Mare’s town centre.
It is the first of its kind for North Somerset and was co-designed with input from people with experience of using local mental health services and clinicians.
The service supports up to 10 clients per evening, inclusive of 1-1 telephone support, face to face support and group support.
The centre is open seven days a week, between 6pm and midnight. It is open to people over 16 years old who live in North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
The Crisis Safe Space – across Somerset
The Crisis Safe Space was also co-designed by local people with experience of mental health crisis who wanted more support available in the community rather than at hospital.
The service has been designed for people experiencing acute emotional distress who need immediate and short-term crisis prevention rather than intensive support from either an emergency or inpatient service.
As an alliance member of Open Mental Health (OMH), we work in close partnership with Mind, Somerset Foundation Trust and other OMH partners.
What it’s like to volunteer for our Crisis Safe Spaces
Recently we have recruited a variety of passionate, experienced volunteers to support the crisis teams and our clients. Some of our volunteers are peers, who draw upon and share their knowledge or own experiences of mental health challenges and services which helps clients to find their own path to recovery.
Volunteer roles include providing 1-1 telephone support to clients for up to 6 weeks, this involves exploring activities that help promote wellbeing, self-confidence, and independence to those who are experiencing isolation as well as mental health issues and other support needs.
Volunteers within the services also meet and greet clients, assist with paperwork, and offer support with signposting, feedback, and ongoing support.
Interested in becoming a Crisis Safe Space volunteer?
If you or anyone you know might be interested in becoming an invaluable part of one of our crisis services, then please do get in touch – Lydia.Dorey@second-step.co.uk. You can also find out about our current opportunities here.
Find out more about our crisis services here on our website:
- Find out more about the Safe Haven Crisis Centre in Weston-Super-Mare
- Find out more about the Crisis Safe Spaces in Somerset
