How to refer someone

If you are a mental health professional or GP and want to refer someone to the project, telephone the branch nearest your client's home and make an appointment.

For a referral form, please email us and we will send one out to you. Emails are on the Contacts page.

We don't take self referrals. If you have a mental illness and want to attend,  someone like your CPN or support worker has to get in touch first.

We offer a safe, happy, structured place where people with mental illness can learn new skills, make new friends and do meaningful work. We work with people who live in the community, either independently or in supported accommodation. We try to build a sense of being in a team, of working for something greater than the individual, and we seem to achieve this.

Typical outcomes of attending us are:

Greater self esteem

Improved social functioning

Joining other groups and projects

Other outcomes vary with the client. Some people have left to get jobs, one has learned to get less frustrated, another has seen radical improvement in his memory. Everyone eventually gets good at fixing bikes.

We are not for everyone. Clients need to like working with their hands, and not mind getting a bit dirty. They also need to be fit enough to do the work, be able to concentrate a bit and remember things. People who talk all the time tend not to do very well. We’re good for the quiet withdrawn ones who like bikes or machines in general.

There has been academic research done on us, and we may be able to get it on here eventually. If you are really interested, we can email or post it to you.