Cornwall charity opens mental health hub for women
BBCA Cornwall charity is working towards opening a full-time drop-in hub for young women aged 18-25 struggling with their mental health.
Sophie Alway has founded Georgia's Voice following the death of her teenage daughter during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The charity's hub - named the Chy - is being located at the Village Kitchen Café in Redruth and is due to officially open on Friday and every weekend afterwards.
Ms Alway said: "The dream is eventually to have the hub open 24 hours a day so that there is always somewhere for young women to go to prevent that escalation into crisis."
'A real need'
The Chy was being staffed by trained support workers providing free one-to-one support, drop-in sessions and group workshops to help young women develop coping strategies and gain essential life skills, leaders said.
If the charity could raise additional funds over the coming months, it aimed to open The Chy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they added.
Discussing the hub's location, Ms Alway said: "We chose Redruth because there is a real need here.
"It is an area of great deprivation, but also it is an area with fantastic transport links, so it's very easy for people to get to from all over Cornwall."
She added: "Mental health can be very isolating.
"It can make you feel very alone and you're the only person who feels and thinks this way when in reality you're not.
"A lot of people have these thoughts and feelings.
"This is a place to come and find your tribe, to find friends, to build your support network and to reduce those feelings of isolation."
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