Bedfordshire Crisis Café closures replaced by Recovery Lounges
Partners East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) and Mind BLMK will be providing a Mind BLMK Recovery Lounge service from Sunday 1 December 2024.
The recovery lounge will support Bedford borough, central Bedfordshire and Luton communities. It was formerly the Mind BLMK crisis café service but will operate under the new title to reflect changes in how support is provided.
From Sunday (1 December) the service will operate as the Mind BLMK Recovery Lounge and move from a daily in-person offer at sites to provide in-person support at one location which will rotate across different parts of the county daily.
Free face-to-face help and support continues to be available for anyone 18 or older, from 5-11pm, every day of the week.
This service will be built into the community pathway offering preventative mental health care for service users with a focus on being embedded within the communities, offering a safe and supportive space for people to come and receive out of hours support in person. The service remains a drop in service during the opening times.
Service users will have access to one-to-one sessions and therapeutic groups. Support is tailored to the individual to help meet their mental health needs. There is a community space that will be designed to be a safe, calm space with a community feel.
The change will ensure service users are still able to receive support during challenging times with their mental health whenever it is needed, as part of our wider community mental health and mental health crisis offer.
It has been made following a five-year review of the crisis café service and through engaging with service users, who have chosen the recovery lounge name.
Service details are available on the Mind BLMK website and listed below:
- MONDAY – The Lighthouse, Whichellos Wharf, The Elms, Stoke Road, Leighton Buzzard LU72TD
- TUESDAY – The Lighthouse, Whichellos Wharf, The Elms, Stoke Road, Leighton Buzzard LU72TD
- WEDNESDAY – Luton Wellbeing Centre, Dumfries Street, Chapel Langley, Luton LU1 5BP
- THURSDAY – Bedford Wellbeing Centre, 3A Woburn Road, Bedford MK40 1EG
- FRIDAY – The Lawns Mental Health Resource Centre, The Baulk, Biggleswade SG18 0PT
- SATURDAY – Luton Wellbeing Centre, Dumfries Street, Chapel Langley, Luton LU1 5BP
- SUNDAY – Florence Ball House, Kimbolton Road, Bedford MK40 2PU
(Milton Keynes at The Queensway Clinic MK22TE – Open 365 days per year between 5pm and 11pm. – Remaining unchanged)
For further professional support networks, please visit: https://formentotalk.co.uk/support-networks/