His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales officially opens James’ Place Newcastle

Photo: Kensington Palace

We were honoured that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales officially opened James’ Place Newcastle yesterday.

The Newcastle centre opened to all men in suicidal crisis in the region in January this year and has already provided free, life-saving therapy to over 140 men.

Our Chief Executive Ellen O’Donoghue said: “We were absolutely delighted that His Royal Highness was able to officially open our third centre, James’ Place Newcastle. We are so grateful to him for his support for our life-saving work. The Prince was able to meet our fantastic team of therapists and some of the men we have supported to date in the North East, as well as some of our funders and partners who have welcomed us to the region. We know that the work we do saves lives and our Newcastle centre is already making such a difference to men in crisis who urgently need our support.”

55 year old Geoff was referred to James’ Place Newcastle by the local crisis team in January following a relationship breakdown. He says: “At the time I was referred to James’ Place I was at my lowest point, I just didn’t want to be here anymore and I was scared because I had never felt like that before, but I knew I needed help and I wanted to survive. James’ Place was my sanctuary at that time – it felt like home. I had an amazing therapist who I had a great connection with and just talking through my problems over a few weeks made such a life-changing difference to me. I feel happy again, I’m doing well at work. I’m so grateful to still be here.”

James’ Place plans to open two more centres in other areas of the country by the end of 2026 as part of a major fundraising appeal.