New partnership with Chasing the Stigma

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides specialist mental health and learning disability services for those living in the South East of England, is working in partnership with national charity Chasing the Stigma, to signpost people easily to vital mental health help and support.

Sussex Partnership has selected the national mental health charity as its signposting partner for staff and its patients, using the charity’s Hub of Hope app to direct them to relevant local support services and groups (no personal or patient data is passed to The Hub by Sussex Partnership Trust).

The Hub of Hope app will be embedded on the Sussex Partnership website and its own mental health services will be added to the platform, providing everyone who downloads the app access to information about community and inpatient care, as well as dementia, personality disorder, psychosis, depression, anxiety and specialist learning disability services.

The Hub of Hope is the only service of its kind that brings NHS, Samaritans, Mind and 3,500+ registered national and local voluntary, grassroots, private and third sector mental health support services together in one place, with the number listed growing daily. It has also been included in the Government’s Covid-19 Mental Health & Wellbeing Recovery Action plan and on the charity referral page of the official NHS.UK website. 

The App was established in 2017 by, Chasing the Stigma, a charity set up by Liverpool comedian, Jake Mills, following his own suicide attempt in October 2013. Jake realised when talking through his own personal experience that many people didn’t know where to turn for help with their own mental health issues, so he and his team created the Hub of Hope – an app to bring together all of the mental health support available to someone in any given area.

To date, the Hub of Hope has directed more than 200,000 people to life-changing and even life-saving help. The site has proved particularly popular amongst men aged 25-54, who are often cited as being most likely to die by suicide.

Sam Allen, Chief Executive of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is so important that everyone can find mental health services when they or their families need them.

“Partnering with Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope means we can provide clear signposting so people can find help in the NHS or any other organisation they choose. Please download the Hub of Hope App and share it with your friends and family.”

Jake commented: “We are extremely excited to be partnering with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, as it means we can help more people across the UK. Our aim is to work with all the NHS Trusts, and this partnership is another great example of how we can be working together to create clear and consistent pathways to care across all sectors. 

“With this partnership we are continuing to remove the stigma surrounding mental health and raise awareness of the Hub of Hope to ensure everyone knows there is always hope, no matter what.” 

The Hub of Hope can be accessed through the app, which can be downloaded from the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android), the Chasing the Stigma website or www.hubofhope.co.uk. The Hub of Hope also has a ‘Need Help Now?’ button that connects users directly to Samaritans or Crisis Text Line’s messaging service.

As Chasing the Stigma is a charity, it relies heavily on donations from the public and all money goes towards expanding the charity to ensure everyone across the UK has access to mental health support, no matter what age they are and more importantly, whenever they need it.