New mental health partnership

From 1 April 2025, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership will deliver services including Access Community Mental Health, Place of Calm walk in, Crisis Houses and Intensive Outreach.

The partnership is made up of four organisations, Alabaré, mental health charity Second Step, women’s mental health organisation Missing Link and Black-led mental health experts Nilaari. Following a commissioning process at the end of last year, collectively we have been working closely with current providers to make the transition for people using services and staff as smooth and supportive as possible.  

The partnership is also working closely with NHS community mental health services in BSW, provided by Avon and Wiltshire NHS Partnership Trust (AWP). Together our aim is to ensure people have access to the care and wider support they need. 

The BSW Integrated Care Board who commissioned the partnership said new community mental health services will be phased in to provide residents with responsive, trauma-informed and integrated mental health support. 

Focusing on people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties, our partnership services aim to help close the gap between primary care and secondary care services, focusing support on where it’s needed most and taking the pressure off GPs and hospitals. Our plan  is to provide mental health support for people earlier, giving them tools to manage their mental health and helping them to avoid crisis. 

 Georgina Ruddle, Interim Director of All Age Mental Health at the ICB, said:  

“The new VCSE Partnership has a fantastic model which will implemented in a phased way to enable change to be managed well. Key to its success will be our close collaboration with people using services and key partners such as AWP, Oxford Health, local authorities and community organisations. Together they will be creating accessible and integrated services supporting people struggling with their mental health in BSW.” 

 Andrew Lord, our Chief Executive at Alabaré, and Aileen Edwards, Chief Executive of Second Step, said:  

“We’re very excited to be part of this new partnership of values-based organisations committed to introducing a new way of working across the region, that is sensitive to the needs of our local communities. By ensuring we listen and collaborate with people with their own lived experience of using mental health services, we believe we will be able to reach the people that need us most.” 

 Alison Smith, Deputy Chief Executive at Avon and Wiltshire NHS Partnership Trust, said:  

“This is such a positive example of statutory organisations working in partnership with the voluntary sector to support local people, in their local community. This model has been developed with the input of those with lived experience and together we can equip people with the tools to manage aspects of their mental health; we can support them in a timely way to help avoid a crisis; and we can provide care which reflects the range of challenges and experiences people may have had in their lives.” 

Our collective community mental health services will offer people trauma-informed one-to-one support conversations, as well as advice and guidance, connecting people on to other services and community groups when needed.  

Our staff teams will be supported with a psychologist and regular reflective practice and receive trauma-informed training. Later this year, the partnership will launch a new Recovery College for the region offering free psycho-education courses and workshops, open to all.  

Click here for more information about our Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership.