Voluntary Action LeicesterShire in partnership with the NHS and Clinical Commissioning Groups are delivering a Crisis Café grant programme.
Crisis Cafés are a safe space for individuals struggling with emotional and mental wellbeing who do not require immediate medical care, they are places that people can go to if they are experiencing a crisis, usually to access mental health support and advice as an alternative to attending A&E.
Open date: Friday 14th January 2022
Closing date: Friday 4th February 2022
Max award: £30,000
What kind of organisation can apply?
Organisations are eligible to apply if they are a voluntary sector or not-for-profit organisation who is either registered with the Charity Commission or Companies House. Smaller unincorporated organisations are eligible to be part of a larger partnership bid, however the lead/applying organisation does need to be registered with one of the above regulatory bodies.
What can the grant be spent on?
The grant can be spent on all expenditure relating to the running of a Crisis Café including, staffing costs, rent and rates, equipment, expenses, central overheads etc.
Organisations will be notified about decisions March 2022 and the grant is to cover the costs of a crisis café for 12 months.
About the Fund
Crisis Cafés will provide a safe, supportive and collaborative alternative to accessing GP services or A&E departments for people with issues that may affect their mental health. It will ensure people receive support and interventions in the least restrictive environment consistent with their safety and health & social care needs.
How much can I apply for?
Each café location will be allowed to apply for a maximum of £30,000. Organisations are eligible to apply to host more than one café.
Please download and refer to the detailed guidelines attached below to see if you are eligible.
Requirements of the fund
- No one will be turned away because they are not ill enough or too ill to access the cafés
- Support given will be based on individual need; people will be able to just turn up/drop in;
- Ensure people know what choices are available to them locally, what they are entitled to, and who to contact when they need help.
Read more on the guidelines attached below.
A Crisis Café will be able to:
- Provide immediate, community based support during the hours of operation
- Ensure that individuals experiencing acute, severe mental health difficulties are supported in a relaxed and friendly environment within their local community.
- Provide the facility for one-to-one support if required.
- Provide hot and cold refreshments.
- Remain involved with the service user until the crisis has resolved and the service user is linked into on-going support services. Follow up support will be provided where needed. This might mean people coming back again, further phone calls or supporting a person to access other services and support as part of an overall plan.
- Support the service user to develop a recovery plan and crisis management plan/safety plan, support with symptom management, the provision of practical help, psycho-education and learning from the crisis, identifying and addressing social and family issues, planning for future crisis, and early discharge planning.
- Provide a viable alternative to acute mental health services for those most in need.
- Provide clinical triage and/or assessment for those that require secondary mental health input.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) in response to inquiries affecting the Crisis Cafe grant programme.
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How often would you want each crisis cafe to run?
A Crisis Café should run once a week. Each application of up to £30,000 is based on establishing and running a Café setting once a week
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If there is someone there that needs urgent support or aftercare, what will be the referral pathway?
If a beneficiary presents with more urgent needs, staff at the Crisis Café will have a direct link in to the Leicestershire Partnership Trust (LPT) Mental Health Hub for immediate phone support 24-7
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Will an LPT clinician be based at the café or just available to contact by phone?
This support is currently available by phone
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Do our staff need previous experience of work in this field?
No. Whilst staff used to run the Crisis Café should have an understanding of Mental Health support there is no expectation that staff have specific qualifications in the field. The most important thing is that staff delivering the service understand the needs of the local community and can offer a safe, calm environment to support people who need it
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Is there a minimum time duration you would expect a crisis café to run?
The existing 4 Café’s run for 6 hours a session, as a guideline. This generally offers enough time for multiple people to access the support. The most important thing when considering the day, time and length of the session is that it most suited to the particular community that you are based in
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Will the crisis café staff have access to the Urgent Care Hub?
Yes. There is a 24-7 phone line for this support
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Do they have to be open access/drop-in or can people make appointments?
One of the key characteristics of a Crisis Café is that it is a drop-in service, rather than by appointment. However, we would encourage you to build up links for other agencies to refer people to a drop-in service.
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What is the minimum age that a service user must be to access the Crisis Café?
Service users must be 18 or over to access the Crisis Café support
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What percentage of people accessing the existing Crisis Cafes are referred on to clinical support from the LPT?
There have, up to now, only been a very low number of instances where clinical intervention and support from the LPT has been required. This shows us that the services, support and intervention happening at the café is effective in most instances.
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Will there be a second round for applying for the grant?
There will likely be a second round to this scheme in which we will focus on different priority areas. However, this decision will be made based on the interest and number of applications during round one
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Where Loughborough University, De Montfort University and University of Leicester have been identified as priority areas, do you mean a café on campus more specifically for students or just within that local area?
Ideally these will be based on University Campuses.
Download Application Pack
- Download Crisis Cafe Grant – Guidance notes here
- Download Crisis Cafe Grant – Appendix 1 here
- Download Crisis Cafe Grant Application – Form here