News > Collaborative change for community mental health and wellbeing support in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire

Collaborative change for community mental health and wellbeing support in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire

1 April 2025

From 1 April 2025, a new voluntary sector partnership will be delivering some of the community mental health services in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW).

Following a commissioning process at the end of last year, the new partnership, called the Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership, will be providing some community mental health services including Access Community Mental Health, Crisis Houses and Intensive Outreach.



BSW logo

New voluntary sector partnership

Made up of mental health organisation Second Step, alongside the national charity Alabaré, women’s mental health organisation Missing Link and Black-led mental health experts Nilaari, the Partnership has been working closely with current providers (Bath Mind, Swindon and Gloucestershire Mind, Rethink and Alabaré) to make the transition for people using services and staff as smooth and supportive as possible.

The Partnership is also working closely with NHS community mental health services in BSW, provided by Avon and Wiltshire NHS Partnership Trust (AWP). Together they will ensure people have access to the care and wider support they need.

The BSW Integrated Care Board who commissioned the Partnership said new community mental health services will be phased in to provide residents with responsive, trauma-informed and integrated mental health support.

Coproduction and a new recovery college

Focusing on people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties, the services will help close the gap between primary care and secondary care services, focusing support on where it’s needed most and taking the pressure off GPs and hospitals. The new approach will provide mental health support for people earlier, giving them tools to manage their mental health and helping them to avoid crisis.

Georgina Ruddle, Interim Director of All Age Mental Health at the ICB, said:

“The new VCSE Partnership has a fantastic model which will be implemented in a phased way to enable change to be managed well. Key to its success will be our close collaboration with people using services and key partners such as AWP, Oxford Health, local authorities and community organisations. Together they will be creating accessible and integrated services supporting people struggling with their mental health in BSW.”

Aileen Edwards, Chief Executive of Second Step, and Andrew Lord, Chief Executive of Alabaré, said:

“We’re very excited to be part of this new partnership of values-based organisations committed to introducing a new way of working across the region, that is sensitive to the needs of our local communities. By ensuring we listen and collaborate with people with their own lived experience of using mental health services, we believe we will be able to reach the people that need us most.”

Alison Smith, Deputy Chief Executive at Avon and Wiltshire NHS Partnership Trust, said:

“This is such a positive example of statutory organisations working in partnership with the voluntary sector to support local people, in their local community. This model has been developed with the input of those with lived experience and together we can equip people with the tools to manage aspects of their mental health; we can support them in a timely way to help avoid a crisis; and we can provide care which reflects the range of challenges and experiences people may have had in their lives.”

Community mental health services will offer people trauma-informed one-to-one support conversations, as well as advice and guidance, connecting people on to other services and community groups when needed.

Staff teams will be supported with a psychologist and regular reflective practice and receive trauma-informed training. Later this year, the Partnership will launch a new Recovery College for the region offering free psycho-education courses and workshops, open to all.

See below more detail about each of the organisations involved in the BSW Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership:

Alabaré – We are well-established in Wiltshire, delivering Access Community Mental Health services in South Wiltshire, Riverside Sanctuary Place of Calm and Hope House Crisis House since 2020.

Missing Link – We offer cutting edge women’s mental health services with additional support for domestic abuse and victims of rape and sexual abuse. We run a women’s crisis house in Bristol and provide recovery navigation support to women.

Nilaari – We are a Black-led charity dedicated to providing mental health assistance, particularly to adults from Black, Asian, and minoritised communities. We provide community mental health services in inner city Bristol.

Second Step – We are a leading mental health charity in the south-west. We deliver mental health support services for people with multiple disadvantages and a support service to families after suicide bereavement in BaNES. We work with AWP to deliver MINT community mental health teams in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

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