Swansea City proud to help launch ‘One-Stop Mental Health Hub’ in local community

Swansea City are pleased to announce the introduction of a ‘One-Stop Mental Health Hub’, in conjunction with the Jac Lewis Foundation, South Wales Police, Samaritans and Swansea City Council.

Last September, Swansea City and the Jac Lewis Foundation announced a fortnightly mental health hub to provide a preventative wellbeing and mental health service to the local area.

Due to the demand of this service and the importance of supporting those with mental health difficulties, the ‘One-Stop Mental Health Hub’ has been created.

This service is being funded by the club’s majority shareholders, Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, together with director and investor Jake Silverstein, and aims to offer Swansea City supporters, along with local residents, the opportunity to attend more regular drop-in sessions facilitated by qualified counsellors to receive professional help and support for mental health difficulties.

The sessions will now also allow attendees the opportunity to receive practical advice and access to a number of other services to support them.

Sessions will be hosted every Friday between the hours of 9am and 5pm at the Swansea.com Stadium, with the first being hosted on Friday, February 4. During these times, there will be members of the Jac Lewis Foundation, South Wales Police, Samaritans and Swansea City Council in attendance and available to provide professional support.

Anyone can make an appointment in advance if they wish by emailing jaclewisfoundation@gmail.com, or alternatively you are welcome to turn up on the day of the hub to speak to someone. This email address above is also there for anyone who wishes to speak to someone now.

Liz Thomas-Evans of the Jac Lewis Foundation said: “The Jac Lewis Foundation is excited to be able to bring together a group of professionals from different organisations to facilitate a new preventative ‘One Stop Mental Health Hub’ in the city.

“Being able to provide mental health support alongside practical support in the same venue will be hugely beneficial to the Swansea community and will provide easy, quick access to a number of different support services. We would like to thank all partners for supporting us and working alongside us in this new exciting venture.” 

Steve Pritchard, Police Sergeant of South Wales said: “South Wales Police is proud to support this initiative set up by the Jac Lewis Foundation and Swansea City.

“Mental health not only affects the lives of the individuals concerned but also the families that try and support their loved ones. The ability for an individual to walk in off the street and gain access to numerous support mechanisms is fantastic. It certainly helps with our ethos of being the best at trying to understand and respond to our community’s needs.”

Rebecca Edwards-Symmons, Head of Commercial at Swansea City added: “Built on the foundations of the existing drop-in centre implemented last year, we felt it was imperative to grow the services available to those in the community who require our help. As Liz mentions, this will enable our supporters and local residents the ability to not only receive support with mental health, but now also advice and access to services through South Wales Police, Samaritans and Swansea City Council.”