This powerful and practical workshop explored how collaborative, community-based approaches are making a real difference for people experiencing crisis—offering safe, effective alternatives to traditional crisis admission routes.

With input from partners across health, social care, third sector, and lived experience voices, the session highlighted how RPB-funded initiatives are providing timely, compassionate responses that reduce the need for hospital admission and support individuals in the right place, at the right time.

Delegates heard about models such as crisis cafés, peer-led support services, outreach teams, and rapid-response interventions—services that are not only alleviating pressure on acute systems but are also restoring dignity, choice, and control to individuals in crisis.

This session offered insights into what’s working, shared key outcomes and impact, and open up conversation around sustainability, gaps, and opportunities to expand this work further. It was ideal for professionals involved in crisis care, service planning, or anyone with an interest in preventative, trauma-informed approaches.

Some key points raised in the session included:

1. The importance of making links with existing services to ensure that the services work as well as possible.

2. Funding challenges – the need to bring together existing resources but use them differently.

3. The issue that the outcome of investment in one organisation may only be felt in another – need to have a shared understanding of outcomes and collective responsibility for understanding the impact of resources.

4. The need to be brave about identifying and leading a new way of doing things.

5. The issue of long term investment – how do we make that happen?

6. Not just money – the need for time to grow the skills we need in a community context – not a straightforward ‘lift and shift’ from hospital.

This workshop was facilitated by Meredith Gardiner, Programme Manager Integrated Health and Social Care, Cardiff and Vale Regional Partnership Board along with partners from Safe@Home, and Mental Health Services.