“No wrong door”: How a train station wellbeing hub is saving lives

“My wish is to help one person who feels that they are struggling,” says Kirsten Rose, service manager for The Hub at Wolverhampton train station. “I want that one person to know that there is light, hope and people who can help.”

Since launching the innovative wellbeing hub – only the second of its kind in the UK – in May 2025, Kirsten and her team have certainly helped more than one person.

In its short lifespan, The Hub, founded by Rethink Mental Illness and West Midland Trains, has opened its doors to dozens of people in the Wolverhampton area, offering one-to-one mental health support, information, and signposting to local services, organisations, community-based projects, and groups.

Speaking to its early popularity, Kirsten said: “The Hub is in an easily accessible location, which already boasts a lot of people passing through and attending.

“There are many services and groups in Wolverhampton, but it can be fragmented. The Hub allows these life-saving services to come together in one place and work together.

“Rethink providing that much-needed mental health, emotional wellbeing and crisis support is crucial, as many people are not aware of the extra support available, particularly when facing a long wait to access other mental health services.”

Being in such a central and busy location within the city means you never know who will pop in for a visit.

“So many people are reaching out to book spaces for events, drop-in sessions, groups and even just to have their informative literature displayed, as a tool for appropriate signposting.

“We also have many people who drop in to enquire about what The Hub is, who then appear to be amazed by our services.

“We have a ‘no wrong door’ policy at The Hub - anyone stopping by will be supported to access the right support for them.”