About James' Place

Our story

James’ Place was founded by Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley following the tragic death of their son James in 2006. Ten days after a minor operation, James took his own life. He sought help for his anxiety and suicidal thoughts but didn’t find the urgent help he so desperately needed. Clare and Nick were determined to prevent other families from losing loved ones and set up James’ Place to provide support for men in suicidal crisis whose needs are not met by existing services.

The first James’ Place opened in June 2018 in Liverpool, the first of its kind in the UK. Our second James’ Place centre opened in London in 2022. Our third centre in Newcastle opened in early 2024. We offer safe, friendly, non-clinical environments, where suicidal men are cared for and respected.

We will open two new centres in England by the end of 2026. With five centres open we will be able to treat up to 2,000 men per year. Our aim is that half the male population of England will be within two hours of a James’ Place centre.

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Why men?

We treat men primarily because men consistently account for over 75% of suicides in the UK. We also know that in general men are less likely to access psychological therapies than women: only 36% of referrals to NHS talking therapies are for men, so our founders felt very strongly that designing a service only for men would be more successful at saving lives than one aimed at both men and women.