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‘People need support more than ever’: Inside Manchester’s new mental health cafe

Kiera and Aimie and, right, the cafe - Rick Jones | Eatmcr
Kiera and Aimie and, right, the cafe - Rick Jones | Eatmcr

It’s hard to imagine a worse time to launch a hospitality venture in Manchester. Then again, if the business in question is a mental health cafe, perhaps there’s never been a better moment.

Such is the dichotomy faced by Feel Good Club, the latest addition to Manchester’s formerly thriving cafe-slash-bar scene. Founded by Kiera and Aimie Lawlor-Skillen, the initiative began as an Instagram page aiming to normalise the conversation around mental health. Armed with a social media following of more than 60,000 and an established merchandise line, the couple opened the doors to their brand new wellbeing-focused coffee house last weekend. Four days and much political wrangling later, Boris Johnson imposed Tier 3 restrictions on the city that came into place today.

Feel Good Club is taking it all in its stride. Under Tier 3 rules, only venues serving proper meals are allowed to remain open. The cafe’s original menu comprised a delicious-sounding selection of crumpets, but as Kiera dryly notes, “I don’t think anything on there would, in Boris’ eyes, be classed as a substantial meal.” Happily, a collaboration with neighbouring restaurant PLY means that the cafe’s patrons can now feast on suitably hearty pizzas and pasta dishes, allowing it to remain open for the foreseeable.

Decked out with lush houseplants and Millennial pink tiles, the cafe blends seamlessly into its fashionable Northern Quarter location – but frivolous it is not. Staff members have received “mental health first aid” training from The Mind Map, enabling them to offer support to people in crisis. Anybody can talk to a team member if they feel the need, and customers will soon be able to formally book in for a coffee and a chat.

“Mental health doesn’t discriminate,” says Keira, 29, who formerly worked as Director of Happiness at a social media agency. “Anybody can suffer from it at any point in their life. This is just a place for anybody to come and feel welcome.”

The Lawlor-Skillens don’t claim to be mental health professionals; instead, they hope shortly to host qualified counsellors who will offer sessions in the more private areas of the cafe. There are plans to extend the “pay-it-forward” concept, which currently lets customers buy strangers a coffee, to allow people to gift therapy sessions to those who can’t access mental health services.

It is a timely intervention. Earlier this month the Royal College of Psychiatrists pointed to a “looming mental health crisis” fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Across the UK, waiting times for services are increasing and anxiety is on the rise. In Greater Manchester, which has been labouring under a local lockdown since July, Mayor Andy Burnham has been vocal about the negative impact on residents’ mental health – and many residents agree.

Manchester Metropolitan University student Charlotte Morley is one of them. “People need more support than ever,” says the 21-year-old, She has come to the cafe to work and give herself a break from her studio flat and believes that the Tier 3 lockdowns will have a damaging effect on wellbeing. “I think it’s genius,” she says of the cafe.

Feel Good Club’s anti-loneliness approach spans everything from hosting community events to reserving a section of the coffee house for customers who want to meet new people. Coronavirus rules have put some of these ideas on hold. However, its interior still caters to different temperaments: there are window ledge nooks for people who want to watch the world go by, cosy floor cushions and a semi-private area inside a greenhouse. Local brands are promoted where possible, and the venue will exhibit the works of a different artist every quarter. First up is Caroline Dowsett, the painter behind a colourful mural that dominates one of the cafe’s walls. “Your happiness above everything”, it reads.

“There’s a lovely atmosphere,” says Laura Walsh, a 26-year-old civil engineer from Salford, who is arranged comfortably in one of the window seats, crocheting a baby blanket. She tells me that, errands and dog walks aside, this is the first time she’s been out of the house in weeks. “It just lightens the load a little bit, when you’ve got somewhere like this,” she says.

Despite the stress of adapting to changing tier 3 rules, Aimie, 31, who previously worked in sales says the couple are feeling upbeat. “We’ve just got to keep going,” she asserts. “As you can see, the coffee shop means so much to so many people, so we’re not going to quit now.”

The duo deliberated over whether to open at all, but say they became aware of a growing need for the cafe as lockdown went on. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. The strict hygiene and social distancing rules that are in place haven’t deterred customers, with the coffee house drawing around 70 covers a day so far. Aimie tells me that the mental health training has already proven useful.

“The days are getting shorter, the mornings are dark again, and it’s lonely for people,” says Kiera. She was upset, she says, by the public debate over the potential complete closure of cafes, pubs and restaurants: “People need these places right now. They need to go out and feel part of something, and like they’re not just on their own.”

Surely running a business in 2020 is no mental picnic, either?

“It’s been amazing to see Andy Burnham and Sacha Lord fighting for places to stay open, but it’s scary – it’s still very scary,” admits Kiera. But, she counters: “Manchester is such an amazing place; there’s such a sense of community and people are so supportive.” She smiles: “If everyone can keep their spirits up, then it’ll be OK.”