A MENTAL health charity has celebrated the opening of a new room at its headquarters and a full refurbishment of the rest of its centre.

Mind in Bradford, based on Cornwall Place, offers an alternative type of treatment for people with mental health problems, rather than them having to go into institutions.

Yesterday, the charity celebrated the opening of its new ‘recovery room.’

Stakeholders were invited to the event, while the many volunteers at the charity were also thanked for their work.

Mark Trewin, leader of the Bradford Council Crisis Care Concordat, said there were a lot of good things happening all over the country at the moment, and Bradford was leading the way with its work.

He said: “We want to work with people in the community rather than in institutions, and it is places like Mind in Bradford that help us do this.

“You can see already how comfortable, calm, relaxing and safe an environment it is, and all this will have a positive impact on people’s lives.

“If someone has a mental health crisis and needs help, they will get looked after if they go to hospital, but most people would rather come to Mind in Bradford and be looked after in a much more relaxing, non-judgemental setting."

Debra Gilderdale, deputy director of acute mental health services at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation trust, said the strong network of volunteers, many of whom have come through the service, helped people deal with their issues.

“People can talk about their crises with people who have been through what they are going through, which will help a lot,” she said.

“We are really proud of what we have achieved at Mind in Bradford.

“We will be getting a number of health trusts from all over the country visiting us to get help and advice, and to see how we are performing.”

Emma Balfe, CEO of Mind in Bradford, said that through the day the new recovery room would be used by support groups, and from 6pm to 1am it would be used as a place for people in crisis to get support in a calm environment.

She said: “The whole reason behind the room is so people in crisis do not end up in police cells because they have been unnecessarily sectioned.

“We have opened the room so that people have a place they can come to work through their crises.”