19 December 24
Health, wellbeing and care

Health and wellbeing support over Christmas in Trafford

Residents needing support over Christmas with their health and wellbeing can still receive professional help and advice.

While many services wind down over the festive period, mental health services are still available – with some helplines available all day, every day.

Below is a list of useful contact. This includes support for young people, older people, those suffering from domestic abuse and people with alcohol dependency.

Cllr Jane Slater, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy and Independent Lives, said:

“Christmas should be a wonderful time for everyone but we know that sadly this isn’t always the case. If you are suffering, feeling isolated or in need of someone to talk to, please know you are not alone. You can call, text, chat – whatever the means of communication, there is someone who will be there to listen and respond to your needs.”

Christmas support and closures in Trafford
Here is a list of community organisations and their arrangements over the festive break.

  • 42nd Street. Support and advice for young people’s emotional health and wellbeing. General enquiry line open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1pm to 5pm on 0161 228 7321. Duty team can be contacted at Duty@42ndstreet.org.uk.
  • Achieve. Services for drug and alcohol recovery in Bolton, Salford and Trafford | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT. During the Christmas break, the Achieve phone lines will be open to support you with prescriptions and other queries. The service will be closed on 25 and 26 December, and 1 January. Call 0161 938 4514. In an emergency, always dial 999.
  • Age UK Trafford. Day care, falls prevention, digital inclusion, information and advice, memory loss service, social prescribers, falls prevention, volunteering, mental health support, smoking cessation, community support hub. Closed from 23 December to 2 January 2025. Our national advice line is open every day apart from Christmas Day for non-emergency support. Call 0800 678 1602.
  • Barnardos.Support for children, young people and parents/carers. Closed Bank Holidays and weekends. Opening times otherwise 9am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. All children and young people we are supporting will complete their ‘winter plan’ with their keyworkers which will include information on who they can contact and what they can do if they need support.  The service email inbox will be monitored daily and there will be on-call cover throughout the period other than when closed.  The duty team is on 0800 151 2605.
  • BEAT Youthline. Online chat or telephone support to young people struggling with an eating disorder. Call 0808 801 0711. Open Monday to Friday. 9am to 8pm. Weekends and Bank Holidays, 4pm to 8pm.                                        
  • Bluesci. Mental health and wellbeing support with centres in Old Trafford, Partington, Coppice, and Broomwood. Closed 24 December late afternoon to 1 January 2025. Bluesci at Night are open every evening of the year from 5.30pm to 12.30am (last entry at 12am) in Old Trafford.
  • CAMHS. Trafford Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provides emotional and mental health assessment and treatment to children and young people aged 0 to 18 years and their families and carers. They offer support to professionals such as school staff, GPs and school nurses who are working with children and young people within Trafford. Closed on weekends and bank holidays. CAMHS Duty Team can otherwise be reached on 0161 549 6460 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Emergency on call psychiatry service after 5pm on weekdays and on weekends / bank holidays via local A&E departments.
  • Childline. Provides confidential telephone counselling services for any child under 19. Call their 24-hour helpline on 0800 1111. Sign up for a ChildLine account or have a one-to-one chat with an online counsellor.
  • Early Break.Young person and family services for substance use support based at Sale Waterside – use the Talkshop for young person appointments. Closed 25, 26, 27 December and 1 January. Referrals will be responded to when service is open and allocated. Cal 0161 723 3880 or email info@earlybreak.co.uk.
  • GMMH Helpline Service. Greater Manchester Mental Health helpline provides phone-based support for anyone, of any age, including carers who are experiencing mental distress. The team is comprised of mental health professionals with nursing and social work backgrounds. Call 0800 953 0285. The helpline provides a 24/7 service.
  • Homestart. Home-Start Trafford, Salford and Wigan supports families going through difficult times by providing volunteers who visit them regularly in their own homes. Closed on weekends and bank holidays. Opening times otherwise Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4pm. Call 0161 865 4222 – will forward to staff email address if the Stretford office is closed.
  • Just Psychology. Culturally tailored public and legal services from a team of psychologists, therapists, and social workers with expertise supporting ethnically diverse communities. Closed 23December to 1 January 2025. Opening times otherwise Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. No duty number - use emergency services.
  • OpCourage. Mental health and wellbeing service for veterans offering a range of specialist support and treatment. Closed bank holidays and weekends. Open 9am to 5pm on weekdays, other than 24 December and 1 January when lines close at 1pm. No out of hours provision. Enhanced team for those who are currently in the service or have a referral made to their pathway (whilst also accessing crisis services) have duty 8am to 8pm on the bank holidays.
  • PAPYRUS. Prevention of Young Suicide (PAPYRUS) HOPELINE247 is a confidential support and advice service for children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide, or anyone concerned that someone could be thinking about suicide. Call HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141, text 88247, or email pat@papyrus-uk.org for confidential support and practical advice. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
  • Place 2 Be. Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 30 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools. Closed 23 December 2024 to 2 January 2025. Opening times otherwise Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Place2Be has partnered with Shout for a crisis support text service - text CONNECT to 85258.
  • The National Breastfeeding Helpline. The National Breastfeeding Helpline offers friendly, non-judgemental, independent, evidence based breastfeeding support and information to anyone in the UK who needs it. The helpline is open 24/7 throughout the festive holidays. Call 0300 100 0212.
  • Trafford Rape Crisis. Sexual Abuse and Rape Support in Greater Manchester. Closed from 23 December 2024. Open the following week apart from on 1 January 2025. Visit the website to start a free online chat. The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line on 0808 500 2222 is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
  • Samaritans. 24-hour free emotional support service. Volunteers on the end of a phone 24 hours a day. Will be running as normal over the Christmas and New Year period. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
  • Kooth / Qwell.  Free online counselling and mental health support for ages 10 to 25 (Kooth) and for ages 25+ (Qwell). Open 24 December 12pm to 8pm, 25 December 4pm to 8pm, 26 December 12pm to 8pm, 31 December 12pm to 4pm, 1 January 4pm to 8pm. Other days over the holiday period will follow usual live chat hours 12pm to 10pm on weekdays and 6pm to 10pm on weekends.
  • Talkshop. Advice, support and information centre for young people aged 11 to 19 (up to 25 with additional needs or care leavers). Talkshop offers a confidential service for a safe and non-judgemental environment for young people to seek the help they need. Talkshop will be open between 27 December and 31 December. The Centre will be open from 10am to 5pm with drop in from 1pm to 5pm every day. Closed on bank holidays and weekends and will signpost to emergency and out of hours services.
  • YoungMinds Parent’s Helpline. For parents, guardians and carers. Call 0808 802 5544, available 9:30am to 4pm Monday to Friday              
  • YoungMinds Crisis Messenger. Provides free 24-hour crisis support. Text YM to 85258. Texts are free from most phone networks.                           
  • Your Housing Group. Your Housing Group provide a wide range of homes for social and affordable rent along with properties to purchase through the sales team. Main offices will be closed from 5pm on 24 December until 2 January 2025. Their contact centre will be available to deal with emergencies only on 25 December, 26 December and 1 January. Call 0345 345 0272. Open as normal all other days during the festive period.
  • Trafford Community Collective. Infrastructure and engagement – community projects. Closing 18 December to Thursday 2 January 2025.
  • Trafford Schools. Closed 20 December 2024 to 6 January 2025. Duty team 0161 912 5125.