St Margarets's Centre
St. Margarets Centre
Priory Orchard
Margery Lane
DH1 4QJ
County Durham
St Margarets Centre operates as a mental health hub providing support, activities and supported volunteering opportunities to adults across County Durham. The main aim of the centre is to provide a safe, therapeutic environment that allows attendees to regain their confidence, motivation and self-esteem while learning new skills and meeting like-minded people.
The whole ethos of St Margarets Centre is that we accept people for who they are and help them achieve their own goals. We are a non-clinical environment that provides safety, support and understanding for those who need us.
Our service include:
Health and Wellbeing Activities: arts and crafts, joinery and gardening in social group environments.
Self-Management Programmes: short courses delivered in-house, teaching practical ways to help overcome a variety of issues, managing symptoms of mental ill-health and interacting with others.
Access to a Mental Health Support Worker: offering emotional support and personalised advice on a variety of issues such as accessing benefits and managing debt.
Mental Health Community Café: open to the public, ‘The Old School Café’ offers an opportunity for training and supported volunteering in areas including food preparation, hygiene, customer service and cash handling. It is also a safe space for anyone to access one-off emotional support without the need for referral.
Craft Shop: our MDF craft shop ‘The Cutting Edge’ created and sells bespoke MDF products for customers across the UK. It also provides more opportunity for supported volunteering in areas such as product design, operating machinery, business administration and marketing.
Employment and Education Support: alongside the existing support from our support worker, we can also offer advice for those wishing to move on from our supported volunteering programmes. This is delivered through our ‘This is Me’ course, developed specifically for individuals experiencing mental health problems. The course is designed to help individuals recognise their own strengths and help them create a CV, apply for jobs and practice interview techniques.