New crisis café can save lives and set people on positive journey, says Community Crisis Intervention Service manager

Tiernan Thornton, the manager of Extern’s Community Crisis Intervention Service (CCIS), was speaking ahead of the launch of the new initiative in the Holywell Trust building on Monday.

"We are hoping that people might feel more relaxed about coming in because it is a café and not a statutory setting like a GPs office but the intentions are still the same.

"We are hoping that if someone comes in we can help them there and then and help them on a more positive journey to getting back to maybe a happier time for them, a more safe and secure time for them.

"That's something we can work on – getting people back to where they feel they should be,” he said.

Mr. Thornton was speaking to the ‘Journal’ in advance of the first community crisis café that will take place between 6pm and 9pm on Monday in the Holywell Trust building on Bishop Street.

“It's going to be a drop-in café session. It's open to anybody who feels they may be able to avail of the services we can offer or knows someone who possibly can.

"We'll have trained staff on hand. We have key-rings with links to QR codes [quick response codes smartphone users can scan to access information online] as well as resource guides, a 34 page book that should cover most if not everything that someone might need.

“We are looking forward to it. We are excited.

“If we can help one person every session. It's about promoting the good services available in the city, the Waterside and Strabane, and promoting a community around mental health to try to help people who are struggling, or feel like they are on the cusp of going into a greater crisis.”

Mr. Thornton said the cafés which will run on the first Monday of every month until February will complement Extern’s CCIS, at Spencer House, a community-based project accessible to adults at risk of suicide.

Staff at the hub have seen an increase in numbers availing of help. He believes this is linked to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

“We have noticed a bit of a spike. The cost-of-living crisis has been the straw that broke the camel's back. It might not be the main thing but it is another thing for a lot of people juggling multiple scenarios and traumas, things enough to put people into crisis. It's another thing to factor in.”

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The day-to-day pressures facing citizens are compounded in many cases by the post traumatic stress often being processed by victims and participants in the recent conflict.

“Pressures could include anything from a relationship breakdown, the loss of a job, to the pressures of the cost-of-living and we are still seeing a lot of spill out from COVID.

"We also still have a prevalence of people dealing with legacy trauma from the Troubles. We see a lot of people coming through with that.

“With our ‘Communities in Transition’ programme we see people trying to integrate back into society where they have been involved in the fall out of different issues.

"It's trying to help them to get back into the way of things in a more positive way.

“For some people with things being so unstable concerning what is going to happen in the future people are worried about things coming back.

“People who were involved in things years ago are still trying to process it.”

Mr. Thornton hopes the crisis café can provide help to people who are in immediate crisis as well as intervene at an earlier stage in the process to support people as they try to get back to themselves.

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“There is a real need for that relaxed setting for people to come in and talk. Other places are doing similar things.

"Declan Moore has the café down in Claude's on Thursday which has got a really good reaction and we've heard of other people looking to launch similar things.

“At our event there will be trained professionals there. People who have worked in the field for a long time.

"The aim is, with those staff, to provide support there and then to people who are in crisis, or signpost people to the services we have.

“It's trying to be proactive rather than reactive. We have the intervention service to provide that support for someone in crisis who maybe feels there is no way out and it is trying to provide people with that service or outlet to help them maybe see things in a different way.”

Staff at the café will be able to point those who need it to the various complementary therapies – reflexology, acupuncture, talking therapy, counselling – available at the CCIS and other service providers.

“It's a chance for someone to come in and avail of the service themselves and take that bit of time and self-care but it's also maybe a chance for people to signpost for someone else.

"We have all spoken to someone on a night out, maybe talked to someone in a sporting capacity, who we thought might be struggling.

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"The resource guide, the QR code, is easy to carry and you can take it away and pass it on to them. But if someone wants to speak to the staff and take that time that’s there as well.

"It's a big step to come into the building to chat to people but there are trained professionals who are there and we want to be able to help.”

Anyone facing acute crisis should contact:-

Emergency services: 999/112

GP out of hours services: 02871865195

Lifeline - 08088088000. Textphone users 18001 08088088000

Samaritans Freephone 116123 (03300945717)

Social services: 02895049999

Foyle, Search and Rescue - 028 7131 3800

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