A COMMUNITY well-being support cafe will officially open at a Wirral health centre next week.
Nightingales Café, situated in the Flourish Wellbeing Hub in Wallasey on the first floor of Victoria Central Health Centre, will provide "healthy meals at affordable prices".
The café will be open to staff, patients and the general public from Monday (June 12).
It will be Nightingales' second cafe. Its first opened on Argyle Street in Birkenhead in 2017.
Since then, it has worked in partnership with Wirral Ways - a service providing support in health and wellbeing and substance misuse - and a host of other organisations to support the community.
Its Argyle Street café offers free hot meals twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to anyone who may be struggling. The café staff are all trained in identifying and supporting those in difficulty.
Wirral's first Social Prescribing hub, Flourish Wellbeing is run in Partnership with Citizens Advice Wirral, Involve Northwest, Age UK Wirral, Wirral Mind and Change Grow Live (Wirral Ways).
The café is described as "a safe and welcoming place for people to connect with each other, allowing them to engage in support services whilst also being able to reconnect with the general public".
In a joint statement on the café launch at Victoria Central Health Centre, Nikki Heywood and Damien Prescott, who are directors of Nightingales CIC and project managers at Change Grow Live (Wirral Ways), said: "Nightingales are delighted to be opening our new café at Victoria Central Hospital, and proud to be a part of Flourish Wellbeing hub.
"The café will serve as the first point of contact for referrals to the Wellbeing Hub. Nightingales will offer a warm and discreet welcome for people seeking support from the range of specialist agencies that have come together at Flourish to serve local residents.
"We look forward to collaborating with the community and all our partners to bring a little help, hope, and healing to the heart of Wallasey."
Tilda Jones, Flourish Wellbeing Hub Facilitator added: "We are really excited about Nightingales Café at Flourish opening.
"The café will be the go-to place to get help from the range of services delivered at Flourish by all the partners who work alongside Change Grow Live - Citizens Advice Wirral, Age UK Wirral, Wirral MIND and Involve NorthWest.
"Getting your problems solved while having a cup of coffee is the best way to help improve your health and well-being.
"Come along to the café and Flourish to find out what great support we can provide for you".
Flourish Wellbeing Hub was opened by Dame Angela Eagle in November.
She said: "Flourish Wellbeing Hub is the first Social Prescribing Wellbeing Hub in Wirral. I am pleased that it has been launched in Liscard at Victoria Central Hospital, where lots of local residents are already used to travelling to.
"The Hub brings together a range of excellent community and voluntary sector organisations and offers wraparound services that will help people improve their health and well-being.
"I look forward to seeing the Hub develop in the coming months".
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