Space 2B
We offer a welcoming space with a difference
At Space 2B, we are unique. Everyone involved in running the space knows how it feels to be struggling and to need some non-judgemental company and/or support. This means that our number one priority is to create a supportive space where everyone is welcome and nobody expects you to pretend to be anything other than yourself!
Space 2B takes place twice a week:
On Wednesdays
- Times: 1:30-4:30pm
- Venue: Hartley Hall (beside St. Michael and All Angel’s Church), Flower Lane, off Mill Hill Broadway, Mill Hill, NW7 2JA
- Bus routes: 186, 221, 240
On Fridays
- Times: 1:30-4:30pm
- Venue: Finchley Quaker Meeting House, 58 Alexandra Grove, North Finchley, N12 8HG
- Bus routes: 221 or 7 mins walk from 82, 125 from Ballards Lane
- Nearest tubes: Woodside Park (10 min walk) or Finchley Central (20 min walk)
There’s no need to call ahead or book, you can just show up. We understand that it can sometimes be nerve wracking to come to a new place with new people, so if you’d like to have a chat before you come, please feel free to give us a call.
What do we offer?
We offer a mix of activities and workshops at each session. Activities and workshops include art, meditation, song writing, knitting and crochet, and games. We also run sessions which give information and support about various aspects of keeping well such as our Hearing Voice Group. All the activities and workshops delivered at Space 2B are delivered through peer support, which we talk more about below.
What do we mean by Peer Support?
Peer support is all about people using their own experience to help each other. So, if you want to talk about what it feels like living with experiences of mental distress or your fears about the future, that’s okay. Our amazing volunteers who run Space 2B can help by sharing their lived experience with you. They can suggest lots of ways to help you manage your everyday life and give you information about other services, projects and ways to manage your wellness.
Giving us a helping hand
After you have been with us for a while you may feel you’d like to join the volunteer Space 2B Facilitator team. We need lots of help and support and even if you’re not really sure what you could do, we can work with you on finding a great role for you. We are all unique and bring our own special qualities.
Peer-led Support Group
It can be hard living with a mental health issue
- Would you like some extra support?
- Are you finding it a bit hard to cope?
- Would you like more people to share with?
If the answer to any of the above is `yes’ our support group could be just right for you!
The Support Group takes place once a week:
On Tuesday afternoons from 2:00-3:30pm.
The group is held in the Patient Information Room, just past reception in Finchley Memorial Hospital, Granville Road, N12 0JE (free parking).
Buses 263 and 382 stop nearby on the High Road.
Buses 82, 125 and 460 stop approx. 10 minutes away on Ballards Lane.
What do we offer?
The group gives you the opportunity to share how you feel with others who can understand because they have had their own experience of mental health issues and/or distress.
The group aims to offer a place where you feel safe and supported to:
- Talk about your experiences of living with a mental health issue
- Share and learn from others about coping with mental health distress
- Find out about where to get help in the community
About Barnet Voice
History
Barnet Voice for Mental Health (BVMH) was started by Elsie Lyons in 1994 as the first mental health ‘Service-User Group’ in the borough. Elsie and her fellow inspiring Founding Members built Barnet Voice upon the strong belief that people who live with mental health issues or distress day-to-day can harness their rich experiences to design, deliver and improve mental health services in Barnet. Barnet Voice for Mental Health became an Independent Organisation in 1998, run by and for people with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
Historically, Barnet Voice was closely involved with the design and development of mental health services with Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust and in shaping the way in which ‘service user involvement’ was integrated into services in Barnet; this included helping them to decide which services to start, taking part in consultations about changes to services, delivering training to staff and sitting on panels for the recruitment of mental health staff. Barnet Voice also ran their own innovative peer-run crisis house, Kaya House, and delivered peer support with people who were staying in mental health wards in Barnet.
Merging with Inclusion Barnet
In October 2017, Barnet Voice members voted to join Inclusion Barnet; this decision was made in order to strengthen BVMH’s infrastructure in challenging times and in the belief that joining forces would enhance the power and reach of peer-led activity in the borough.
Current Work
We know that non-judgemental support, and spaces to ‘just be’ are important when you are feeling vulnerable. It is for that reason that we currently focus on providing peer support in the community, and soon, on inpatient wards in Barnet.
Current Work BVMH Council
Our volunteer BVMH Council, which is made up of volunteers with lived experience of mental health issues, and who work on more than one of our peer activities, are responsible for working together to make decisions in the best interests of everyone involved with Barnet Voice. One member of the BVMH Council also sits on our Board of Trustees to ensure that the experience of BVMH volunteers and attendees is always reflected in the running and development of Inclusion Barnet.
Newsletter
Our newsletter provides a weekly run-down of local mental health related news, events and services.
