HUB OF HOPE We’ve all felt the pain of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. For someone with a personality disorder it can be tenfold. When lockdown came Helen Underwood knew there could be issues.
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elen is day service lead for the personality disorder hub run by Mersey Care in the coastal town of Waterloo. A safe, reassuring environment for people who often don’t have a strong social network. She explains: Our service users often find it challenging to forge relationships. They often encounter difficulties managing their emotions, which leaves them susceptible to people taking advantage.
The hub provides a safe haven, seven days a week, including a crisis service. “A lot of people rely on the hub for support, so when we closed the doors we knew we’d have to work quickly to stay in touch.” Service users played a major role in designing the hub and are heavily involved in service developments. The team called for tech savvy volunteers to help set up a virtual hub. And they did. The hub Facebook group, previously used solely for service messages
The hub provides a safe haven, seven days a week, including a crisis service. 18
The team called for tech savvy volunteers to help set up a virtual Hub. was developed into a live group allowing staff to check on people’s emotional wellbeing. Skype and Zoom quickly followed. What happened next couldn’t have been predicted. Only around 20 of the 150 service users on the books usually kept in touch outside of appointments. Within a week check in meetings were attracting 60 or more people daily. “It was incredible to watch,” said Helen. People who had never actively engaged were chatting openly to complete strangers and looking relaxed.
