Hello and welcome to the Leeds Survivor Led
Crisis Service blog!
We are a mental health charity based in Leeds
and we provide out of hours support to people in acute mental health crisis, to
prevent people going into psychiatric hospital, A&E and statutory services.
We were founded in 1999 by a group of campaigning mental health service users,
who wanted there to be a non -medical, non-diagnostic approach to people in
crisis, that was outside of a clinical environment. We work from a lovely 18th
century house, Dial House, in East Leeds and provide compassionate, person
centred support. All of us who work here have had our own experiences of mental
health problems. I’ve been here nine years now, but many of the staff have been
here even longer. We all stay because working with people in crisis is such a
privilege – it can be a hugely significant time in people’s lives and people
are very real when in crisis. I am truly proud to lead the organisation and an
inspiring, passionate team.
We are recognised nationally as a provider of
outstanding crisis services – the Mind report ‘Listening to Experience (2011)
which was an inquiry into crisis care highlighted us as an example of what
crisis care could and should be like. We have won six national awards, get a
lot of media coverage and are often asked to speak at conferences and events
and write about our work. I have recently written a book chapter about ‘the
place of love in crisis support’- but
that’s another blog for another day!
Dial House is open 6pm-2am Friday, Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. Our Connect Helpline, based at the Touchstone Support
Centre, is open every night of the year 6-10.30 (0808 800 1212). We also have a
crisis service for people from Black and Minority Ethnic Groups, Dial House @
Touchstone, which is based at the Touchstone Support Centre 6-11pm on Tuesday
and Thursday nights. And we have a range of peer led group work – social and
support group, Hearing Voices group, Man-age men’s group, a thriving LGBT
group, self harm group and coping with crisis group.
We plan to blog every week. I’m hoping lots of
people from the organisation – visitors and callers (this is what we call our
‘service users’) staff and volunteers will all contribute pieces of writing.
I hope you will enjoy reading about our work.
Fiona Venner
Director.
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