Solidarity in a Crisis Manager Mathieu Smith sends this moving testimony about how the peer led service is showing vision in adversity. Please note that services highlighted in our Mental Health Support section are subject to change. 

Good morning everyone. In this time for crisis and uncertainty I wanted to advise you that Solidarity in a Crisis is still here , we are what we say we are, we are that solidarity in the crisis, the pandemic, the uncertainty. No one in our lifetimes has ever been through such a time as we are entering, so many people out there have so many questions, and no one has all the answers, but who is still actively listening to people, who is taking 20min just to have a conversation. In a fast moving situation its hard to find 20min. Our community crisis team have gone virtual. We still are providing the highest level of crisis support but we have adapted and now are doing support via Skype, telephone and skype. Since we moved to these methods we have seen a great retention figure, the feed back is great. The Harbour Crisis Café in Lewisham Hospital is also moving to a virtual basis, due to space being needed by Lewisham NHS Trust and the Government Guidelines, the Harbour has had to close its doors, however through a great brain storming process the Peers will still be able to assists the PLN and HTT through the low risk outpatients sessions that are being established at the Ladywell Centre. Our peers will also continue to support current and past referrals via the methods of Skype, telephone and social media, as before The Harbour Crisis café is open to Lewisham Residents only.

Lastly our crisis line is at the forefront of what Solidarity in a Crisis is, providing that emotional and active listening that so many people need in this moment of crisis. The line has not changed and is fully managed by the peers who have won national awards in crisis support: 03001231922

…Attached [are] the referral form[s] for Both the Community team and the Harbour and I urge you to continue to send referrals, direct people to the crisis line, We need to show that we can all work in SOLIDARITY, as a TEAM.

Mathieu Smith (Solidarity in a Crisis Manager)