An app created by a former comedian following his own suicide attempt - now the UKs largest service finder for mental health support - has undergone major redevelopment to meet growing demands for easier access to mental health support services in the UK.

In 2024 the Hub of Hope app saw an average of 25,700 visitors per month searching for help available from the 14,500+ listed services - a 66 per cent increase in visitors compared to 2023, with demand continuing to grow.

Former comedian, Jake Mills, now CEO and founder of Liverpool-based mental health charity, Chasing the Stigma, conceived the Hub of Hope app following his own battle with depression and a suicide attempt in 2013. During his recovery Jake went public about his mental health issues, speaking out on social media and to regional and national media*.

As he did, he was flooded with messages from people who were also struggling and who - like himself - did not know where to turn for help. With nowhere for Jake to signpost people to, he decided to create what was needed - a centralised database of mental health services, so people could find the help they needed when they needed it.

Starting life as a spreadsheet of a few services collated at the kitchen table in his mum’s house, the free Hub of Hope app now has more than 14,500 services across the UK listed and since 2017 it has been used by more than 800,000 people to find support with their mental health, as waiting lists for help and referrals continue to grow.

During the pandemic, despite receiving no funding from the government, the Hub of Hope was included in a letter sent to 2.2 million people shielding due to clinical vulnerabilities as the pathway to mental health support. It is also described by NHS England as “the main national signposting tool” for mental health services, used by NHS Trusts across the UK, and was included in the government’s national suicide prevention plan.

It is also the primary signposting tool for Mind, works in partnership with organisations including Network Rail, NewRiver Retail and The Priory Group, and in 2024 opened its first physical “Hope in the Community” location. Hope in the Community Westminster, developed by Chasing the Stigma and Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust, is a pilot for a revolutionary model intended to redefine approaches to mental health care in the UK, making space for community-led, non-clinical mental health and wellbeing support.

The redevelopment of the Hub of Hope includes infrastructure improvements to allow it to support ever-growing use and demand and changes to its technical framework and user interface. This makes it easier both for people looking for help to find what they need, and for services listed on the app to better showcase the help they can provide, as well as improvements to accessibility and inclusivity.

An updated data model will also make it easier for the charity to collate, access and analyse the app’s anonymised data, which could provide vital insight into gaps in service provision and mental health challenges facing various groups.

With an estimated two million people* on waiting lists for NHS mental health support in England alone, the redevelopment of the Hub of Hope to strengthen infrastructure as demand increases “never been more vital” in both ensuring that people can find the help they need, whenever and wherever they need it, and in relieving pressure on increasingly stretched NHS services.

Jake Mills, CEO and founder of Chasing the Stigma, said: “When I first spoke out about my mental health issues in 2014, people were already waiting far too long to access help on the NHS, and too many were slipping through the cracks because they didn’t know where to turn to for help.

"We are now 10 years on and although progress has been made in encouraging people to speak about their mental health and reach out for help, when they do, they are faced with long waiting lists for services that are already overstretched and understaffed, as our work delivered with the support of NHS England and several NHS Trust demonstrates.

“After being included, without warning, in the 2021 pandemic shielding letter and, more recently, in government’s national suicide prevention strategy, we saw a steep increase in visitors to the Hub. This not only showed how desperately needed this resource is, but it also made strengthening the Hub’s infrastructure absolutely critical if we were to continue to provide clear pathways to help.

“Our investment into redeveloping the Hub of Hope has been made despite the desperately challenging funding landscape that is the reality for so many mental health support services. Our app really has never been more vital. We want more people to be able to get help for their mental health issues before they reach crisis point. The relaunch of the Hub of Hope marks a new chapter in our mission to destigmatise mental health and our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that the new design is accessible for all.

“We believe that the ability to access help for mental health should be a basic human right for everyone and the improvements we have made to the app have been designed to address the challenges faced by some communities in accessing mental health support, remove barriers and provide valuable resources.

“I was told by some people that the Hub of Hope would never work. Yet here we are, almost eight years later, and we continue to go from strength to strength, with more people using our service finder than ever before. We are confident the new features will go a long way in creating a clear pathway to mental health support for those who need it.”

The app upgrade also includes enhanced filters, which were pivotal in directing more than 300,000 people to mental health services in 2024, and existing filters have been grouped to make the different types of provision, diverse demographics and varied characteristics clearer to identify.

Age filters, and others including “Open on weekends/evenings”, “Autism”, “ADHD”, “Deaf and Hearing Loss” and “Blind and Sight Loss” have been introduced to prioritise making mental health support inclusive and accessible for all.

Since the free-to-use Hub of Hope was established in 2017, more than 800,000 people have used the service. The comprehensive database features 14,500+ grassroots and national mental health services and is listed by the NHS to help people find support near them.

*Source: Mind Big Mental Health Report 2024: https://www.mind.org.uk/media/vbbdclpi/the-big-mental-health-report-2024-mind.pdf

NOTES TO EDITOR

Embargoed until 7 AM on Wednesday 12th February 2025.

For further information, please contact Nikki Croft-Girvan on nikki@chasingthestigma.co.uk or call 07834072989

Top ten UK locations** using the Hub of Hope in 2024

1. London

2. Manchester

3. Birmingham

4. Liverpool

5. Newcastle upon Tyne

6. Wolverhampton

7. Norwich

8. Milton Keynes

9. Edinburgh

10. Plymouth

** Location data is based on the IP address of the device used to connect

Key Information - Usage

● Over 283,000 people visited the Hub of Hope from January to November 2024, averaging more than 25,700 visitors per month. Compared to 2023, this marks a 66% increase in visitors

● In 2024, the Hub of Hope directed over 104,000 people—approximately 37% of its total visitors—to mental health services

● Females have always been the main user group starting from the launch of the platform in 2018. However, the gender gap is narrowing down from 22% in 2023 to 20% in 2024. The data indicates that males are increasingly seeking support

● The 25-34 age group consistently remains the largest among all Hub of Hope users, growing from 27% in 2023 to 30% in 2024. Following closely is the 35-44 age group, which saw a 4% increase compared to 2023

About The Hub of Hope

The Hub of Hope started life as a small database of services compiled at his mum’s kitchen table by Chasing the Stigma Founder and CEO, Jake Mills.

During his own recovery from a battle with depression and suicide attempt in 2013, at the age of 24, Jake went public about his mental health issues, speaking out on social media and to regional and national media.

As he did, he was flooded with messages from people who were also struggling and who - like himself - found nowhere to turn for help. With nowhere for Jake to signpost people to, he decided to create what was needed - a centralised database of mental health services, so people could find the help they needed when they needed it.

From that small database grew the Hub of Hope, now the UK’s largest and most comprehensive directory of community mental health services, offering hope and help at people’s fingertips.

For more information, visit: www.hubofhope.co.uk

About Chasing the Stigma

Chasing the Stigma is a national mental health charity on a mission to normalise and humanise conversations about mental health, whilst ensuring that everyone in the UK can access clear pathways to support, whenever and wherever they need it.

With lived experience at our core, we are driven to create a society where there is no longer a stigma associated with mental health, where people are as comfortable talking about their mental health as their physical health, and where everyone is able to find appropriate support before they reach a point of crisis, leading to a significant long-term reduction in self-harm and suicide.

We strive to achieve this through the provision of pioneering training services, awareness-raising campaigns and lobbying activities whilst also operating the UK’s largest and most comprehensive directory of community mental health services, the Hub of Hope.

For more information, visit: www.chasingthestigma.co.uk

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