Update – 28.03.25
LSLCS has sadly been subject to a further reduction in funding which comes into effect from 1st April. The Management team and Board of Trustees have worked hard to implement the cost-savings with our staff team and visitors, callers and guests in mind. However, as a result of this reduction many of the staff across the organisation have been impacted and there are changes to some service offers. Please note the following changes from 1st April:
- Contacting Us – All crisis support requests/calls to Dial House, Connect and Teen Connect will now be through our Freephone number 0808 800 1212. Callers will then be given options to select the support that you require. The former Dial House support number (0113 2609328) will remain for office enquiries and further information.
- Connect – The Connect service will close at the earlier time of 1:00am each day. Due to this reduction, there will be an impact on the number of supports we are able to offer each evening.
- Teen Connect – Support requests for Teen Connect will now be directed towards our West Yorkshire Children’s and Young Peoples Helpline service – Night OWLS – after 8pm. The opening times of Teen Connect on Saturdays and Sundays will now be 3:30pm instead of 6pm, so Teen Connect opening hours will be 3:30-8:00pm every day from the 1st April, with further support available on Night OWLS from 8pm to 8am every day.
- Dial House @Touchstone – Unfortunately we will now longer be open for social support sessions on Monday evenings from April. The Dial House @Touchstone team will be seeking feedback from visitors to understand the impact of this and how the service may be developed to offer further support options.
During April, we will be looking to adapt our services further, to achieve a combined adult service offer with a single point of contact through our Freephone number. We will be seeking feedback from visitors and callers as to how these changes should be implemented.
LSLCS has been delivering empathic, compassionate, emotional support since 1999 and we remain aware of the high need for our quality of services and are committed to delivering them to all our callers, visitors and guests despite the current, highly challenging, financial climate. Although the impact on the above services is visible in terms of the changes to how support is delivered, please be mindful that our whole staff team has been impacted by the cuts and are doing their very best to continue to deliver high quality emotional support, while also managing the impact that this has on them personally.
You may notice some changes to the staff teams from 1st April, as some staff move to other service areas or leave the organisation. We will work to keep the impact of these changes to a minimum and to provide support to our callers and staff during this difficult time. To help manage this process, we ask that any questions or comments are directed to the management rather than the staff themselves. We are also conscious that some of these changes may affect your experience of seeking support with us. We will do our best to minimise the impact of these changes for you, but please get in touch with the senior management team if you have any questions, queries or feedback on 0113 2609328 or by email at smt@lslcs.org.uk
Leeds Survivor-Led Crisis Service (LSLCS) was set up in 1999 by a group of service users, who had campaigned for five years to develop the service (which became “Dial House”). Initially, LSLCS was run in partnership with Social Services, becoming a registered charity in 2001. Dial House was set up to be a place of sanctuary, as an alternative to hospital admission and statutory services for people in acute mental health crisis. LSLCS was established, and continues to be governed and managed, by people with direct experience of mental health problems. We have our own unique perspectives on what it feels like to be in crisis and what helps and does not help. We have developed our LSLCS based on this knowledge and experience, while responding to the needs articulated by our visitors and callers.
We are part of a network of mental health services in Leeds. We liaise with and undertake joint work with other services, while maintaining our identity as an innovative, service user led voluntary sector organisation providing face-to-face crisis services (Dial House, and Dial House @ Touchstone), telephone and video chat support (Connect Helpline, Teen Connect, Deaf Connect) and Groupwork; along with partner working with other mental health services, we are part of the Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service (in partnership with Leeds Mind) and The Wellbean Cafes (in partnership with Touchstone).
