A new place to seek help and find support for wellbeing has opened in Swanage, Dorset, with people of all ages invited to drop in for a chat about the services they need.
Many years in the planning, the Welcome Lounge in the Focus Centre on the corner of Chapel Lane and the High Street, finally came to fruition with its opening on Tuesday 22nd April 2025.
Working together left to right: Sinead O’Neill, Tania Leigh, Ali Tuckey, Bob Foster, Mel Norris, Dai Hounsell, Kim Gallagher, Chris Brady, Emily Gadd, Kirsty Clegg and Andy Rammell
Offer a listening ear
First conceived around 2019, the Welcome Lounge is run by the community for the community, with trained staff and volunteers who will offer a listening ear, as well as pointing people in the right direction to find help for housing, family support, loneliness, support for carers, employment, or mental health issues.
To start with, the Welcome Lounge will be open every Monday to Wednesday from 10 am to 4 pm with no appointment required – just drop in.
On Mondays, there will be a dedicated team available to chat about mental health and wellbeing issues. This is available to anyone aged 18 and over.
Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust along with partners including the charity Help and Care, is rolling out these Access Wellbeing sessions as part of a Dorset-wide programme.
The Welcome Lounge is ready to welcome visitors with Focus Centre staff member Tania Leigh, Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust trustee and Welcome Lounge volunteer Mel Norris, Welcome Lounge volunteer Chris Brady, and Focus Centre staff member Sinead O’Neill
Access Wellbeing sessions
- Swanage: The Focus Centre, Chapel Lane BH19 2PW – Every Monday from 10 am to 4 pm
- Wareham: Family Hub, Worgret Road BH20 4PH – Every Tuesday 10 am to 3 pm
- Lytchett Matravers: Youth Hall, High Street BH16 6BJ – Every other Wednesday 10 am to 3 pm
Making accessing wellbeing easier, left to right: Dorset Healthcare transformation programme manager for Access Wellbeing Emily Gadd, Help and Care comms manager Kirsty Gadd, and wellbeing coordinator for Access Wellbeing in Purbeck Andy Rammell
“Wonderful to link up with the Welcome Lounge”
Dorset Healthcare transformation programme manager for Access Wellbeing, Emily Gadd said:
“We’re now offering mental health services under the Access Wellbeing umbrella from Gillingham in the north of Dorset, down to Swanage in the south.
“People can just walk into the Welcome Lounge and talk to Andy or Nicci who will be here to listen. Then they could suggest either a series of support sessions or signpost people to other services, however it’s all person-led.
“Dorset Healthcare is also developing new therapeutic pathways including ones for complex trauma, something we have not been able to offer locally in the past. This avoids moving people away from their communities to get help.
“It’s wonderful to link up with the Welcome Lounge initiative led by local people and all working together.”
The doors to the Welcome Lounge officially open for business
The opening was the culmination of a lot of coordination between the NHS, local councils, and the Purbeck and Swanage Development Trust
“Helping people to help themselves”
The Welcome Lounge is part of The Focus Centre, which already offers a range of other services from health visitors, drug and alcohol support, and an infant feeding group, plus a SEND support group and a depression support group starting this year.
The Focus Centre is owned and managed by the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust on behalf of the local community.
Chair of trustees Bob Foster said:
“We’ve stuck to our vision over the last five years and convinced Dorset Council and Swanage Town Council to back us. This is the community working for the community, and helping people to help themselves.
“So it’s great we are here today and opening the doors to the Welcome Lounge but this is not the end. The Lounge is only part of the complex of buildings offering more services.
“The aim is to be able to address local people’s needs locally and not have to tell them to go to Poole or Bournemouth, but for them to find support that suits them closer to home.”
Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust CEO Ali Tuckey (left) and chair of trustees Bob Foster (right)
“First step is always the hardest”
CEO of the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust Ali Tuckey added:
“Our dream is for people to come into the Welcome Lounge and for them to get the help they need here. When I’ve struggled in my life I’ve found that the first step is always the hardest.
“If you’ve got to travel a long distance or wait a long time for an appointment it’s so easy to give up. And that’s a particular challenge for us in Swanage, as we are a relatively isolated and small community and it can make it harder for us to access services.
“Here we are empowering our community to help ourselves. We won’t provide solutions or advice but can help people find out about their options and support them to get the right help.
“There’s so many brilliant community groups in Swanage already improving people’s wellbeing and we can magnify the work of others like the Greengage Community Garden and the Loft by all working together.”
Watch Access Wellbeing film
Further information
- More about the Focus Centre
- More about Access Wellbeing
- More about the charity Help and Care
