Youth Mental Health Scheme Launches in Ealing
Houses converted for use by young people in risk of homelessness
Two Victorian townhouses have been converted
September 12, 2024
A new housing scheme providing specialist support to young people experiencing mental health challenges opened in Ealing this week.
The timing coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day this Tuesday (10 September).
The new Oaklands and St Kilda’s service is being run by specialist housing association and mental health support provider Look Ahead, and offers community-based rehabilitation to young people at risk of homelessness.
Two newly refurbished Victorian townhouses will provide specialist supported accommodation for up to 12 young people aged 18-25 with mental health needs.
The two sites include communal spaces, landscaped gardens and separate garden annexes which will be used for therapeutic activities.
The launch comes after research, published in The Guardian last year, found major gaps between adolescent and adult mental health services, concluding that A&E departments had become an ‘accidental hub’ for young people experiencing mental crisis.
The report, funded by Wates Family Enterprise Trust, further highlighted that young people had to have attempted suicide multiple times to be admitted into in-patient mental health care.
The facility in Ealing will increase the capacity for supporting young people away from hospital settings in local communities, while reducing pressures on already stretched A&E departments.
The service will be staffed by a trained, specialist staff team, offering 24/7 support. There will be additional support from NHS psychologists and specialist mental health charities.
The scheme is set to provide a national blueprint for how young people with mental health needs can access specialist support in high quality, homely environments through new supported housing models.
One of the rooms in the new facility
The project was supported by property industry charity LandAid; SEGRO; the UK Real Estate Investment Trust; Property Race Day; The Story of Christmas Appeal; and the Greater London Authority. In total, external partners provided more than £1 million in funding.
Look Ahead CEO Chris Hampson said, “Our previous research found that mental health support for young adults in the UK had arguably reached crisis point.
“Eighteen months on, we are delighted to announce the opening of our brand new Oaklands and St Kilda Service, representing a positive response to these ongoing challenges, while also highlighting the power of partnership in driving better mental health support outcomes for young people.
“By providing the right support and care in partnership with the NHS alongside high quality, psychologically informed environments in beautifully restored buildings, we can help to prevent these young people from getting stuck in the revolving discharge of hospital admission and discharge.”
Tim Wates, Chairman of the Wates Group said, “Community-based supported living settings offer a powerful alternative to hospital for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. We hope to see this model rolled out nationwide and for more and more young people to recover and move on with their lives these supportive environments.
“It is encouraging to see that the recommendations of the research that Wates Family Enterprise Trust funded have been implemented with the opening of this new service.”
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