Second Step

We've been putting mental health first for people in Bristol and the South West for the last 30 years.

In the mid-1980s, a passionate group of social workers and community psychiatric nurses recognised that many people were in hospital not just because of their mental health problems, but because they had nowhere else to go.

Housing initiatives at that time didn’t give people the mental health and practical support they needed once out of hospital. The group decided to set up a housing association where the emotional and mental wellbeing of each individual was central.

The founders worked with landlords with available properties to rent, and persuaded people to volunteer their time for free. In 1987, we officially became Second Step, named in recognition of providing a step away from hospital, and one towards recovery and the hope of a better future.