NHS-funded wellness café opens in Birmingham

Two leading mental health organisations – Living Well Consortium and Birmingham Mind – have partnered to launch the West Midlands’ first wellbeing café, Grounded.

The news comes after Nightline, a dedicated helpline that has been supporting students for over five decades, recently reported a 51.4% increase in calls since 2020, with stress, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts remaining key concerns for the student population.

Located in Selly Oak, Birmingham, the new cafe is housed in a former medical practice and is designed by architectural interior design firm Sculpt.

The cafe features earthy colours, a cork wallpaper and terracotta tiles. The entrance features a branded, textured clay wall, and from there, customers can pick up a coffee, pop into a therapy room, or the main seating area, which overlooks the garden.

Anyone can drop in for a coffee or to join in with the community events, workshops, group and one-to-one therapies on offer.

As part of over £450,000 of funding from NHS England for this initiative, the design will roll out to a second location in Birmingham later this year, with ambitions to add more venues in the future.

The café is operated by Evolve, a social enterprise that provides young people who have faced barriers into employment, with training and job opportunities. Complimentary sanitary products are provided by Hey Girls, a social enterprise fighting to end UK period poverty.

Alexandra D’Silva, general manager of Grounded, said: “The initial response from the community has been really positive and we’re already seeing people casually drop in alongside people with appointments, which has been wonderful to see.

“The need has never been greater for accessible mental health services, particularly amongst the student population on our doorstep. Many feel intimidated accessing support in traditional clinical environments but with the welcoming space we’ve created in Grounded. We hope to encourage more people to take advantage of the host of services available to them.”

Ash Wilson, founder and creative director of Sculpt, added: “Many designers want to use their skills to make the world a better place and working on community and wellbeing focused projects with wonderful organisations like Living Well Consortium helps us do just that. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to see the space in use and witness the reactions of visitors first-hand. LWC have been an amazing client throughout the process and their ongoing hard work and dedication in the sector that makes projects like this possible.”