We were delighted to officially launch our additional Safe Havens in Kent and Medway yesterday!

The launch event in Maidstone brought together stakeholders from across the mental health system, celebrating the collaborative efforts that have made the expansion to nine sites, including two that offer 24/7 support, possible.

A highlight of the event was hearing stories and quotes from people who have accessed our service. One of those stories came from Peter, who has been accessing the service for three years and is now creating artwork to be displayed at our new locations:

"I suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder and anxiety, and I've been in crisis many times. The Thanet Safe Haven has been my emotional support when I'm really anxious and I need someone to talk to. They listen to me and have helped me come to terms with how I am feeling.

I've been using the service for three years now and I’ve been on a journey. Before, there have been times where I have rung, 999 or gone to A&E and most of the time now the service saves me from doing that.

The team are great, they're empathetic, understanding, patient, and give me the time that I need. When I'm struggling, they help me to decompress and see that things aren't as bad as I thought. More often than not, I feel better after 10 minutes because I start to see things from a different perspective.

I'm in a much better place now and have been working on creating artwork for every Safe Haven space to display and I'm looking forward to going to the new Ramsgate service.

I just want to say that not once has the Safe Haven let me down."

Learn more about our Kent & Medway Safe Havens.