Improving the mental health of the local Jewish community at the London coffee shop

At first glance, the Headroom Café resembles one of thousands of other welcoming cafes in North London.

There are comfortable chairs and trendy exposed brick walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and delicious dining options.

But there’s something else on the menu at this quaint spot on Golders Green High Street. This is a café that is also suitable for the lonely and people with mental health problems. It is a place of help for dozens of people who are looking not only for a good cup of coffee – although there is one – but for friendship, advice and help.

“I was walking over with my family when we decided to see what they were doing,” says Jonathan Adams, 48, who has mental health problems. “It was such a friendly atmosphere that I started coming regularly.

“It’s the kind of place where you can just sit down if you don’t feel like conversation but make friends along the way. I started attending some client walks and now I help out with art classes.

“There is empathy in the people I meet; They’ve been through the same things as me and we support each other. Getting the groups to come around makes me feel a little more positive about the world.

The cafe opened in 2016 on the site of a former shop that raises money for the Jewish charity Jami, which operates Headroom alongside a network of services for people of all faiths with mental illness. Earlier this month, it doubled in size and took over the business next door, opening up even more meeting options.

While Jewish people are just as likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders as non-Jews, studies have shown that they are more likely to suffer from depression — perhaps due in part to the “generational trauma” of the Holocaust and the need to escape from semi-Semitic persecution. other countries.

Modern psychology and “speech theories” were mainly invented by Jews, including Sigmund Freud, and studies have shown that Jews use verbal expression more often than others to express painful experiences. Talking is one of the most important therapies in the cafe.

“I moved to Golders Green a few years ago to live in a house that Jami runs and they told me about the groups,” says Daniel, 68, who runs the Coffee and Connect Tuesday group with Jonathan. “I have had serious mental health issues in the past and Jami helped me a lot. In this group, people can talk about the good and bad things in their lives in a safe environment.

“We all get along and that’s wonderful, we don’t have to be lonely anymore.”

Barnet Mayor Alison Moore praised the “true pioneering work” as she officially cut the ribbon on the reopened cafe with a new look, adding: “At a time when we are trying to focus on mental health acceptance.” and moving away from the stigma of mental illness, Headroom Café’s offering comes at a very important time.

“It’s a model that we should share with other communities because I think there’s a real need for it.”

It is estimated that one in four people suffer from a diagnosable mental illness each year, with Londoners among the most affected in the country. The pandemic has only made things worse and increased loneliness.

Headroom was closed for part of the pandemic — when it reopened, it was busier than ever, says Karen Conway, the cafe’s community development facilitator.

“This cafe is the first of its kind to be affiliated with a mental health charity,” she says. “It starts with just being a beautiful coffee shop with tasty, nutritious food. But what makes it different is that it is a groundbreaking form of mental health care. We build community through our free groups that provide peer support, mutual care, and socializing for everyone in the community, regardless of age, background, ethnicity, or mental health.

“We believe everyone is on a spectrum; It doesn’t matter how you feel one day, you might feel different the next day, and this is a place for everyone no matter how they feel. Part of being candid on a high street is trying to stop the stigma surrounding mental health. It is a warm, welcoming and safe place for people to connect with each other and alleviate the isolation currently prevalent in communities of all kinds. People who already felt lonely because of certain mental health issues have really struggled during the pandemic.”

There’s a walking group, a theater group, an art group, a talk group, and even an online group for people who are at work but want to see different faces on Zoom while sitting at their computers – they have a break every 25 minutes to check in and chat chat with each other.

Ultimately, it’s about helping people help themselves. At first someone comes in with a friend or carer, but little by little they form their own friendship groups, which gives them both independence and comfort. “Very often people structure their week around the activities we organize because that may be the only time they are with others,” adds Sarah. “What I really like is to see how relationships develop between people – some of them went to the movies together recently. It will be self-sufficient, which is great.”

No wonder a second pub is being planned elsewhere in North London, hoping for more and more.

“I have no idea how many people will come to each session,” says Sarah. “People just take to the streets and find a home here, a community.”