Mental Health

Projects

Collaborative care for every mind, every time

At CoLab, our mental health work is built on strong partnerships, person-centred practice, and trauma-informed care. Through the Devon Mental Health Alliance and projects like the One Mental Health Team, we reach people experiencing multiple disadvantages – including homelessness – with flexible, compassionate support. From drop-in guidance and clinical interventions to creative tools like the Talking Deck and community-based initiatives like First Step, we create spaces where people can access the right help, build resilience, and define their own path to recovery. Our role is to connect, convene and empower – ensuring no one falls through the cracks.

Devon Mental Health Alliance

Logo of Devon Mental Health Alliance with interconnected shapes and the tagline 'Working together for better mental health across Devon'.

The Devon Mental Health Alliance (DMHA) is a partnership between six organisations (CoLab Exeter, Devon Mind, Improving Lives, Rethink, Shekinah and Step One Charity) dedicated to providing support for people experiencing challenges with their mental health. The goal of the Alliance is to improve access to services and identify new opportunities to support people across all of Devon’s communities, using a collaborative approach that reaches across and brings together partners from the statutory, voluntary and community sectors.

What we bring to the Alliance as CoLab is a passion for empowering communities to meet the needs of those living there, years of experience and skills in curating effective multi-agency spaces and projects that enable everyone to contribute at their best, and deeply rooted relationships across the sector with both statutory and VCSE stakeholders in mental health provision. This leads us to get involved with everything from helping small grassroots charities access the training they need, to establishing innovative projects filling urgent gaps in provision, to system-wide conversations about transforming how we do things like commissioning. All of this though, is about making sure everyone in Devon gets the help they need, when they need.

One Mental Health Team

Logo for The One Mental Health Team at Colab Exeter, featuring a stylized line drawing of a hand with a heart in the palm, enclosed in a circle, with light blue abstract background shapes and dark blue text.

One of the shared aspirations we have long had as a community has been to improve the response to mental health challenges for our most vulnerable people. The team will work collaboratively and compassionately with available clinical and experienced social support to enable people to access the right support and guidance at the right time, in the right place. The service offered is for people who are homeless, vulnerably housed and experiencing complex needs. People who may require support or signposting alongside community-based opportunities which aid recovery and build resilience. We aim to provide trauma-informed care, a service delivery approach that acknowledges the impact of trauma on individuals.

It focuses on physical, psychological, and emotional safety, empowering individuals to define their needs and goals and make choices about their care and services. It is a strengths-based framework that aims to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment for both staff and visitors. The team is hosted at CoLab and supported by the CoLab core team.

The Clocktower Surgery (Inclusion Health Devon) - The Clocktower Surgery (Inclusion Health Devon) GPs offer a first point of contact for people who have mental health problems. People can register with the surgery at CoLab if they are homeless or vulnerably housed.

Specialist Mental Health Support - The DPT Homeless Mental Health Team - The HMHT will provide clinical support for adults in the cohort. The team is made up of several professionals, including nurses, an occupational therapist & a consultant psychiatrist. Our aim is to help people in the cohort with their immediate mental health needs & longer-term recovery; ultimately to enable people to return to achievable levels of activity & independence

General Community Mental Health/Emotional Wellbeing Support and Signposting - Mental Health Recovery Worker - CoLab Hub

The MHRW will support adults to develop & implement smart action plans to help set & achieve person centred goals for recovery & wellness. Using a range of evidence-based techniques to support emotional regulation & coping skills development in individuals.

The OMHT offers a multidisciplinary approach with discussion and overview of clients/service users that are referred from services and teams that have concerns about an individual that they support. If we think that we could offer the individual support, we discuss with the individual ways to explore what support they want during an initial conversation to find out from the person themselves what they are struggling with. If they are presenting as a concern to themselves or others, then a more structured intervention may be discussed within the OMHT and actioned. Working alongside hub colleagues, we are aiming to reduce challenges to the mental health offer within CoLab to provide a collaborative person-centred approach for our visitors and those who reach out for support. 

What can the OMHT offer?

The One Mental Health Team will be holding drop-in sessions at CoLab

When:     Monday and Friday - 09:30 - 11:30
Where:   CoLab Atrium
With:       Molly (Mental Health Recovery Worker)

During these times, Molly will be available to listen and offer support, advice and signposting. As this is a drop-in, no appointment or booking is required. 
Please speak with the Welcome Team and ask for Molly.