Mental health hub celebrates year at station

More than 2,000 people have used a mental health support service based at Wolverhampton Railway Station since it opened a year ago, officials said.

The Hub is run by West Midlands Railway (WMR) in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness and enables local organisations to host pop-ups and events in its space.

Kirsten Rose, from Rethink Mental Illness, said the service had given people guidance, mental health and wellbeing support, while social groups had benefited from using the facility.

The safe space was inspired by a similar hub in Hull, which brought about a 63% reduction in people arriving at nearby stations in crisis, WMR said last year when it was launched.

To mark the first year and Mental Health Awareness Week this week, a series of pop-up events were planned at the building, WMR said.

Thomas Harty, security and safeguarding manager at WMR, said: "Wolverhampton is one of our busiest stations in the West Midlands, making it the perfect location to offer support to passengers travelling through and to local residents too.

"We are so pleased that the Hub has become truly embedded in the local community, and that so many people have used it to access vital resources and support."

Rose said it had been great to establish partnerships not only with other services, but with train station staff, security officers and British Transport Police who have supported people in use the service.

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