Partnership Approach Opens Doors at Brendan House

Partnership Approach Opens Doors at Brendan House

Brendan House is the first project in the region which provides short term support for people facing a life crisis impacting on their mental health. The scheme offers support for a period of up to three nights, to help people address the issues which led to their crisis in a positive manner and avoid being admitted to hospital.

Brendan House is a partnership project between South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust which has provided the funding; Staffordshire Joint Commissioning Unit; Staffordshire County Council; Housing Plus Group which sourced and will manage the property and Richmond Fellowship, facilitating the care and support. Referrals are accepted from a wide spectrum of agencies operating in South Staffordshire including Health and Social Care Providers, GPs and self referrals.

The scheme is named after the late Brendan Commons who in his role as project co-ordinator of South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health had the vision for the project. The house was officially opened by his wife Avril Commons. Also attending were Housing Plus director of business development, Ursula Bennion and Housing Plus board member, Rolf Levesley.

Suzanne Cole, project co-ordinator for South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health, said: “Centres like this are vital for individuals who have personal experience of mental distress and would benefit from a break from their home environment for a few days.

“Brendan House intends to offer the help and support that is needed in confidence, in the hope that people will return home and carry on living as independently as possible without the need for hospital admission. The project is a great example of a range of partners coming together, initially funded without a grant, to help vulnerable people in the local area.”

She continues: “The Network began campaigning for this service many years ago, there are just a handful of centres like Brendan House across the UK, and this is the first which will be available for referrals from across the whole of South Staffordshire.”

Kevin Tunnard, director of operations, Richmond Fellowship, says: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health and Housing Plus in delivering this preventative service model.”

Ursula Bennion, director of business development at Housing Plus, adds: “We were pleased to be able to support the Brendan House Project by providing and managing the property on its behalf. By working in partnership we can use our own expertise and those of our partners to provide affordable housing with the needs of the customers in mind.”