A vital service to support people experiencing mental health distress in Warwick now has a new home thanks to a collaboration between a business based in the town and a local sports club.

The Safe Haven Coventry and Warwickshire service run by mental health charity Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind will now operate from Warwick Sports Club, providing a new bricks and mortar venue for it in Warwick.

The move is the result of partnerships developed with the organisations by local business People Arches Ltd - the company behind McDonald's on Emscote Road - and is hoped to help even more people struggling with mental health issues.

Sam Starling, Safe Haven Service Manager from Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind, said: "'We're both grateful and proud of our partnership with the team at People Arches Ltd, being able to deliver our service from May to September at the McDonald's venue on Emscote Road has most definitely increased both awareness of the service and the number of people reaching out for support and if that wasn't enough, we now find ourselves in a fantastic new partnership with Warwick Sports Club.

"Our Safe Haven team are delighted to have a new permanent venue in Warwick, the new space is both convenient and welcoming and we hope to continue getting to know those who use the sports club and for our Safe Haven team to become a part of the local community it is here to support."

The Safe Haven service was first started in Coventry and Warwickshire in 2018 and now provides open-access community venues in Coventry and Nuneaton, seven evenings a week, with additional venues available in Warwick, Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Earlier this year People Arches Ltd teamed up with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind to provide a place for the charity's Wellbeing Vehicle to park, offering a mobile 'Safe Haven' that would prove accessible and easy to visit for those who needed it.

The service, which was offered in the McDonald's car park on Thursday evenings, saw a huge surge in the number of users accessing it, with some people individually supported in-person by practitioners with others contacting the CW Safe Haven Team after picking up information from the vehicle while it was parked up.

Steve Drummond, Treasurer of Warwick Sports Club, said: "We know firsthand the value of support from other organisations and what a difference it can make, so when the potential came up for us to help this vital service for people in Warwick, we were happy to help. We hope this provides a safe space where people can get professional help from trained practitioners when they need it, and ensure that Warwick keeps this vital service on a regular basis."

Now, the CW Safe Haven service is to have a new home in Warwick Sports Club, opposite Warwick Racecourse, with practitioners operating from the club on Thursday evenings in order to continue offering the vital support, which includes crisis intervention, de-escalation, and mental health support.

The move to find a new bricks and mortar home for the weekly CW Safe Haven is the result of a partnership between People Arches Ltd and Warwick Sports Club, and collaboration now with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind.

In June, People Arches sponsored Warwick Sports Club, which comprises Warwick Cricket Club, Warwick Hockey Club and Warwick Tennis Club and provides training and coaching for hundreds of young people, to the tune of £1,000, helping lessen running costs and free up funds to support Junior Programmes and ultimately help more children.

People Arches Ltd founder Dawood Ibtehsam said: "As a business we have been working tirelessly to contribute to our local community and having seen the clear need for the CW Safe Haven we wanted to do something to create a more permanent home for it.

"Having built a strong relationship with Warwick Sports Club, we suggested the idea and were delighted that they wanted to help. We hope the CW Safe Haven will continue to help people when they need it most, and would urge anyone struggling to take advantage of this valuable service."