MENTAL health patients are getting back into work thanks to a new café in York.

The Parasol Café, in Clarence Street, is chiefly run and managed by 15 mental health service users, and runs alongside the highly successful Umbrella Café at Bootham Park Hospital.

The café, which is a joint initiative between North Yorkshire and York Community and Mental Health Services and City of York Council, serves sandwiches, cakes and other snacks and has been hailed a huge success since it opened in August.

One café worker, who asked to be named only as Jane, said: “Before we used to sit around and do nothing all day.”

“But now, I’m learning a lot of new skills, like how to deal with awkward customers.”

The café is designed to give patients an opportunity to develop their skills, get training, boost their confidence and learn how a small business is run.

“In January, I’m doing a customer service training course and then the basic food hygiene course,” said Jane, 45, of Acomb, who works in the café on Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Who knows, I might end up in college doing a catering course. I’m really happy about that,” she said.

At present, the two-week-old Parasol Café is only open to mental health staff and patients, but it is hoped that it will join the Umbrella Café in being open to the public, after a trial period.

Janet White, the region’s mental health services’ community recovery team manager, said: “It allows people to get their training in a more supported environment. It’s a staged introduction to training.

“It’s not just about training in catering, but personal skills as well as confidence in being with people. It may be that they develop confidence to go and work in other places,” she said.

Kathy Clark, assistant director of commissioning and partnerships at City of York Council, said: “We are really pleased to see this second joint venture take shape for local people who have experienced mental health problems.

“The café project provides service users with the opportunity to get back into employment or training and also inspires new goals for people to work towards.”