THE Department of Health has awarded £178,200 to create an ‘out of hours’ safe haven for people who are at risk of experiencing mental health crisis in York.

The Safe Haven at Sycamore House in Clarence Street will provide a place of sanctuary for people experiencing out-of-hours mental distress and will offer open access and multi-agency support for anybody who goes there. It will provide an alternative to residents going to accident and emergency and also seek to help people before their distress escalates into a crisis.

The Safe Haven will operate in addition to the support already provided by Sycamore House, which currently hosts a range of services for mental health service users to aid recovery.

Councillor Carol Runciman, of City of York Council, said: “This funding is very welcome and will help us provide support to those who need it outside of daytime hours. The support offered by the Safe Haven can be as simple as having a cup of tea and a chat or addressing the isolation that many people with mental health difficulties experience.

"It is hoped that many users will feel able to access support from the Safe Haven and it can make a real difference to residents across the city.”

The announcement from the Department of Health confirmed the approval of a bid from the York and North Yorkshire Crisis Care concordat, including City of York Council, the Partnership Commissioning Unit (PCU) - an NHS shared service arrangement across the four North Yorkshire CCGs - and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). TEWV will support the Safe Haven initiative with links from its Crisis and Home Based Treatment Team and work with third sector organisations regarding the staffing of the Safe Haven.