Step Down
Step Down is a 9-5 support service
We’re a 9-5 service supporting clients with practical living skills including cooking, cleaning, and shopping. We help with budgeting and make onward referrals to specialist support if needed. We also help with managing benefits. For example, we will help with applications for universal credit and personal independent payments (PIP).
Alongside this practical help, we offer emotional support helping to build people’s confidence and resilience to reconnect back into their communities. Supporting clients to make strong community links is a vital part of their recovery and helps people to avoid going back into hospital.
Client experience
One of our clients Colin said:
“I have been here for two weeks. I was unsure what to expect when I arrived, I was full of anxiety. Whilst being here I have felt safe and able to discuss any issues that I have. The staff here are all amazing, kind and compassionate. They are all willing to help with any tasks when I need it. I am lucky to have found this place.”
Community support
Set up in June 2020, Step Down became part of the Open Mental Health alliance in June 2023, part of NHS Somerset’s transformation of mental health services across the county. A key aim of the restructuring was to create a system which avoids hospital admission by supporting people to create strong connections back into their communities. Step Down has an important role in this work helping people to make the transition from hospital back home to be as smooth as possible.
Contacting Step Down
Step Down is located in Wells and Yeovil. In Wells, we share our location with Rethink, who run Keward House. In Yeovil, we share our location with both Rethink and Mind. Please make sure you are contacting the Step Down service rather than the other services co-located with us. Please talk to your healthcare professional to ensure you have the right contact details.
Referrals
Step Down clients come from across Somerset. Referrals and transfers are made directly from Somerset Foundation Trust’s hospital ward teams electronically via the Urgent Care Hub. We work closely with these teams as well as the Trust’s community mental health and home treatment teams. We also have strong relationships with adult social care and the housing team at Somerset Council.
Should you feel that you or someone you care for would benefit from this service then we encourage you to discuss this with your family and/or your keyworker who will be able to make a referral on their behalf.
Meet the Step Down team
Senior Recovery and Wellbeing Worker
I have worked within the health and social care sector for nine years and have now worked in the Step Down service for nearly four years. I enjoy the diversity of the role in that no two days are the same, and every client is different. In my spare time I enjoy travelling and visiting new places with my partner, daughter and our dog!
Peer Recovery and Wellbeing Worker
I have worked for Second Step for six months now, although I have spent many years working in different settings within social care, including transitional work with young people leaving care. Outside of work I enjoy playing and creating music as well as hill and coastal walking and sitting around a campfire.
Recovery and Wellbeing Worker
I have worked with Second Step in Step Down as an agency worker since June 2023. Shortly after, I took on a permanent contract with Second Step. Before that, I travelled for work for two years. I love travelling and seeing new places. I’m interested in the holistic approach to wellbeing and its benefits to mental health.
Peer Recovery and Wellbeing Worker
Hi I’m James. I work as a Peer Recovery and Wellbeing Worker for the Step down project in Yeovil. Prior to working for Second Step, I was on a work hiatus due to my own mental health challenges. I am passionate about the recovery process and love working in this sector. I live in the countryside with my wife and young son, and I enjoy running, coffee, books and music.
Peer Recovery and Wellbeing Worker
I have worked in recovery-based projects for the last 13 years. After moving to Somerset from Brighton in 2022, I started work for Second Step. I love the variety of different clients we work with, providing a safe and inviting place for them to start their recovery and working with a great team.
Working in partnership:
