First look at Everton in the Community’s People’s Place revealed, a purpose-built mental health and wellbeing hub.
Four years since plans were announced to bring a dedicated wellbeing hub to L4, the facility is due to open its doors in Autumn 2022. In situ just 500 metres away from Goodison Park, The People’s Place will offer a dedicated space to promote mental and physical wellbeing, and when complete, will be the first of its kind associated with a Premier League Football Club.
As the project moves closer towards becoming a reality, Everton in the Community’s Director of Health and Sport, Mike Salla believes as well as providing significant support to the region’s mental health services, the building will also look ‘spectacular’ when complete.
“The People’s Place will build on our track record of delivering mental health projects for 15 years and allow for a huge expansion on the work that we do” said Salla.
“It’s going to provide a significant contribution to our delivery and to the whole city region, helping to tackle the stigma towards mental health and normalise that conversation.
“It will look spectacular when it’s built; we’ve worked with Condy Lofthouse Architects and Ashlar Construction Limited previously on the existing buildings on the Goodison campus, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing how the finished building will look.
“We’re very grateful for the funders for their support in making this project a reality.”
Funders for the project include The Football Foundation, Phil Brown, Causeway Technologies, the Steve Morgan Foundation and the community match challenge fund in partnership with DCMS, all of whom have committed funds to support the build and sustainability of the facility.
The People’s Place will cater for a range of activities around sport, education and employment, all of which are proven to improve mental health. The building will also provide a layer of professional support, with a team of GPs and mental health professionals on site, enabling the charity to provide clinical services to achieve clinical outcomes.
“Another key aspect of The People’s Place is that it’s deliberately for everyone” Salla added. “We hear about how one in four people will experience poor mental health each year, and absolutely this is for them, but it’s also for the three in four people who are deemed to have good mental health. Everybody has mental health so it’s important that we all prioritise it.”
Video footage courtesy of Everton Football Club
