According to a charity that helps people who are socially isolated and have poor mental health, demand for its services is growing.
In response to the pandemic, a Gloucester woman founded Diverse Leap to help the lonely.
With the opening of a second center in Cheltenham, the charity has recently grown.
One of the service's users, Charlotte King, said, "It's something I look forward to each week.".
"It gives me the opportunity to express how I've been feeling to someone, but it also allows me to get outside, and I need to put myself first now. ".
The cost of living crisis, according to volunteer Hannah Beasley, has increased demand for the service.
She added that "post-Covid" had caused numerous traumas for people in various ways.
With funding from the NHS, University of Gloucester, and Gloucestershire County Council, the charity accepts walk-ins as well as GP referrals.
When she struggled with her mental health during the pandemic, founder and CEO Tara Leyshon developed the idea for it.
It was challenging to be cut off from the outside world, she said.
We don't need so many mental health professionals to just be a listening ear, I thought, knowing I'd have to be referred and wait nine months. ".
You can visit Diverse Leap in the interim if you're looking for support and are currently on the NHS waiting list for treatment.
I feel good knowing that what I did will benefit many people, Ms. Leyshon said.
"This is what helped me overcome my anxiety and depression."
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