Carlisle Eden Mind Carlisle Eden Mind (CEMIND) is an independent mental health charity that works to empower, educate and support young people and adults with mental health issues. Over the past 25 years, CEMIND has seen the demand for its children and young people services increase. Its Your Voice project works with children and young people with a variety of vulnerabilities such as exclusion from school, behavioural difficulties, living in challenging family circumstances, risk-taking or self-harming. Advocacy coaches encourage young people to weigh up information and make informed choices, while supporting emotional wellbeing and providing an outlet for stresses and anxieties. Over 90% of 131 young people who accessed advocacy coaching reported increased confidence and improved communication with peers, teachers, parents and the community, and better focus on their future. CEMIND’s Lighthouse project acts as a haven for adults in a mental health crisis. It operates from 5pm to 11pm every evening, offering an opportunity to be listened to and a sanctuary while feelings pass. Crisis Support Workers explore coping strategies and help find solutions in a safe and non-judgmental environment, while signposting individuals to additional avenues of support. Breathing Space is another CEMIND service. It provides weekly mental wellbeing groups that offer peer support, with a facilitator, in a safe space. The group allows struggles to be aired and provides activities and resources to boost mental health and combat loneliness. One Breathing Space participant said: “I accessed Breathing Space because I needed support with my mental health. I haven’t found mixing and mingling with others easy in the past and the group has really helped my confidence grow. It has helped me to make connections which has changed my situation for the better. CASE STUDY I now plan to volunteer for CEMIND so I can give back to them after receiving so much support. Helping others makes me feel good! I particularly enjoy seeing people leave feeling better than when they walked in. Every Life Matters Every Life Matters is a Cumbrian suicide prevention charity. It works to reduce deaths by suicide through challenging stigma, encouraging help-seeking behaviour and creating suicide safer communities. Chris Wood, CEO of Every Life Matters said: “My grandad died by suicide when I was five, but due to stigma, and the difficulty comprehending and talking about the issue, his suicide was kept a secret in the family." As well as working to prevent suicide, Every Life Matters offers support to those left behind. Suicide bereavement is a particularly traumatic form of bereavement and those bereaved are at significantly increased risk of experiencing thoughts of suicide themselves. Cumbria Community Foundation has supported Every Life Matters to establish a countywide network of peer-led support groups for survivors of bereavement by suicide. A member of one Peer Support Group said: “It’s such a hard subject to talk to your family about and I’m so pleased for the help and support I’ve got from others who have been through this terrible loss.” Chris, one of the Carlisle Peer Support Group Facilitators who has been bereaved through suicide himself, said: CASE STUDY Research has shown that speaking openly about suicide decreases the likelihood of the person acting on their feelings. If someone is having thoughts of suicide, they may be feeling cut off from people around them, desperate for help but afraid to ask. They may need someone to start the conversation for them. Giving people a safe space to come is a no brainer. I could have done with it at the time. I know how important it really is. Carlisle: Opportunities & Challenges 2025 62 63
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