MENTAL HEALTH
‘A second home
and safety net’
“Solace is not just about
having a laugh and a
cup of tea; it is much
more than that,” insisted
a user of the recently
reopened mental health
resource centre.
F
or 23 years, The Solace
Centre in West Ealing has
been a place where people
with mental illness can meet
in a relaxed environment, build
confidence, join in activities and
make new friends. It plays an
integral role in helping people
to cope with mental health
crises or combat loneliness
and depression.
The centre’s staff also
helps its 87 members and
many other visitors to
resolve various day-to-day
problems. It is an ‘out-of-
hours’ service that runs all
year round, opening weekday
evenings and all afternoon at
weekends for members.
20
around ealing February 2018
Dympna Bolger
Senior recovery worker Catherine
Bingham said: “A great majority of our
service users come from the community,
where loneliness and day-to-day life
can become unbearable. Others are
referred by their GPs, the hospital or
via supported housing. Solace is a
welcoming and safe environment.”
THE BIG REOPENING
Since April 2016, the council has
leased the Solace Centre, in Bowmans
Close, to Equinoxcare, part of the
Social Interest Group charity.
Solace officially reopened on World
Mental Health Day in new premises,
the lay-out of which was partially
shaped by service users’ views. After
an uncertain couple of years when its
future was under threat, the opening of