Lewisham café to provide mental health support for people in crisis
People experiencing a mental health crisis will now be able to get mental health support and therapeutic treatment faster and closer to home.
The Bridge Café in Deptford Broadway, Lewisham, will be delivered by the 999 Club in partnership with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Lewisham residents who are aged 18 and over, who are experiencing a mental health crisis and need support, can call 111 or the Lewisham Crisis Line to be referred to the café.
The Bridge Café is open from Monday to Friday, 6pm until 11pm, and on weekends and bank holidays from noon until 11pm.
The café provides immediate access to therapeutic treatment in a calm and safe environment, and helps people to avoid busy hospital emergency departments.
People will be expertly cared for in a calming, comfortable environment with access to food and drink.
South London and Maudsley has trained the café’s staff to provide crisis care, with some using their own lived experience of mental ill health to help others.
More than 20 volunteers will facilitate well-being activities in the space.
Thomas Neumark, chief executive of the 999 Club Charity, said: “The Bridge Café will provide a friendly, warm welcome and an empowering approach to supporting people to be safe and take the next steps on their recovery journey.
“The 999 Club has been playing our part in Lewisham for 30 years, and we think the Bridge Café is the right solution to the challenges of 2022.”
Pictured top: The building the cafe will in, in Deptford Broadway (Picture: Google Street View)
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