Helping people across Bristol when they need it
Our Help When You Need It team is doing brilliant work across Bristol, using their skills and experience to help people make meaningful changes to their lives.
Second Step took on the new citywide Help When You Need It service on 1 October 2026, bringing together support previously provided by three organisations into one service covering the whole of Bristol for the first time.
The citywide service provides short-term practical support for adults from across Bristol, who are experiencing a mental health problem. Support is available for up to 12 weeks and people do not need a formal mental health diagnosis to use the service.
Help When You Need It also includes the Bristol Carers Service, run by Rethink Mental Illness. It supports unpaid carers of adults with mental health conditions, helping them look after their own wellbeing, build confidence in their caring role and access advice, peer support and practical guidance.
Support that starts with listening
At the heart of Help When You Need It is skilled, personalised support. The team draws on its experience to understand what is happening in someone’s life, listen to what matters to them and identify where support can make the biggest difference.
The team recognises how housing or money worries, loneliness, physical health, work or feeling unsafe can affect wellbeing. Their trauma-informed approach takes account of how past experiences may shape what someone needs to feel safe and supported.
Our support is both practical and emotional. Staff work alongside people on the goals they want to achieve, helping them build confidence, strengthen their support networks and connect with other services and support in their communities.
Service Manager Lisa Murfin, said:
“Our team understands that sometimes a relatively short piece of support, at the right time, can make a real difference. We start by listening to what matters to the person and recognising what they need. Our staff draw on their skills and experience to provide support that takes account of each person’s past experiences. I’m incredibly proud of the difference they are already making for people across Bristol.”
Help When You Need It can support people with mental and physical health difficulties, housing, money and debt, work or volunteering, staying safe, loneliness and accessing local community services. People can meet staff at home, in their community or speak over the phone, depending on what works best for them.
People can self-refer to the service, or someone else can make a referral on their behalf. To find out more click here.