The Haven Project

What The Haven Project does

The Haven Project is a registered charity (Charity Number 1169747, Companies House 05081953) founded in 2004 in Colchester, Essex, dedicated to the support and treatment of adults with a Personality Disorder or Complex PTSD diagnosis, or pending diagnosis. It originated as one of 11 Department of Health pilot projects and remains the only pilot independent of statutory providers. Its core service is a psycho-social recovery model combining a 12-week Community Recovery Programme, therapeutic 1:1 support, a seven-day-a-week Crisis Prevention Service, structured Recovery Groups, a Friendship Group, an Arts & Crafts Makers Group, a monthly Haven Community Forum, online Zoom sessions, outreach services, and dedicated family/partner support. Services are delivered in person at 10 St. Peters Court, Colchester, and supplemented by remote Zoom sessions, with systematic client involvement across all aspects of the project.

The'organisation operates on a donation and grant funding model, providing services free of charge to clients with no revenue earned from service delivery. Following the end of central Department of Health funding in 2014, The Haven Project scaled down from a 24/7 Access service with crisis and respite beds to a daytime group-and-therapy model, sustained by grants from The National Lottery Community Fund and Essex County Council. Its claimed outcomes include a client suicide rate of less than 1% over 380+ clients across its first ten years versus an 8-10% national benchmark, an 80% reduction in unplanned hospital admissions and A&E attendance, and over £1 million in annual NHS savings during the same period. It was cited as a Best Practice example in the 2013 Guidance to Commissioners of Specialist Community Mental Health Service.

The charity is led by CEO Jacqui Harman-Slack with a small team of 7 staff (Office Manager, Finance Officer, Therapeutic Lead, two Support Workers, a Group Facilitator, a Maintenance Officer and a Student Counsellor) plus a Trustee Board and Lifetime Honorary Presidents. Geographic reach is primarily Essex, with the website indicating services extend to clients "beyond" Essex via online channels. The complete absence of disclosed financial figures, technology platforms, or AI systems means the organization should be assessed as a small, people-intensive clinical charity rather than a technology-enabled service.

Name

The Haven Project

Legal name

The Haven Project

Website

https://thehavenproject.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Haven Project is a UK-registered charity, founded in 2004 in Colchester, Essex, providing psycho-social recovery services, therapeutic 1:1 support, crisis prevention, and community programmes for adults with Personality Disorder or Complex PTSD. It is entirely donation- and grant-funded and delivers services free of charge to clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Support Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Personality disorder support
• Complex PTSD therapy
• Community mental health services
• Crisis prevention support
• Therapeutic recovery groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Haven Project is entirely funded by charitable donations and grant funding. No revenue is generated from client services. Funding sources include The National Lottery Community Fund and Essex County Council grants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Haven Project is a registered charity that delivers therapeutic and community-based mental health services for adults (18+) in Essex with a diagnosis of Personality Disorder or Complex PTSD, or pending diagnosis. Its core services include recovery groups, therapeutic 1:1 support, a seven-day crisis prevention call service, online Zoom sessions, community activities (Friendship Group, Arts & Crafts Makers Group), a monthly Haven Community Forum, outreach, and support and guidance for families and partners. All services are provided free of charge to clients and funded by donations and grants.

Product overview

The Haven Project is a mental health charity offering a unified suite of therapeutic support services for adults with Personality Disorder or Complex PTSD diagnosis. The organisation provides group-based programmes (Community Recovery Programme, Recovery Group, Friendship Group, Arts & Crafts Makers Group, Haven Community Forum), individual therapeutic 1:1 sessions, a seven-day Crisis Prevention Service, online Zoom group sessions, outreach support, and dedicated family/partner guidance. Services operate on a structured weekly schedule across multiple days, with activities designed to foster community belonging, skill development, and emotional regulation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Recovery Programme
• Therapeutic 1:1 Support Sessions
• Crisis Prevention Service
• Online Zoom Group Sessions

Quantifiable outcome

• Client suicide rate of 0.25% vs 8-10% national average
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mental Health Foundation: The Mental Health Foundation is a UK charity focused on prevention, research, and public mental health. It overlaps with The Haven Project's mission and is a comparable UK voice on complex mental health, though it operates at a national/advocacy level rather than direct service delivery.
• Mind: Mind is the UK's leading mental health charity, providing information, support and local services across a wide range of mental health conditions. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with The Haven Project in its mission to support people with mental health difficulties, though it operates nationally and across all conditions rather than specialising in Personality Disorder.

Emerging players

• Hub of Hope: Hub of Hope is a UK-wide mental health support directory and digital platform connecting people to local services, including charities and peer support. It is an emerging digital peer that competes for the same referral audience but at a discovery/routing layer rather than direct service delivery.
• Survivors of Torture International / Freedom from Torture: Freedom from Torture provides specialist therapeutic support for survivors of torture and organised violence, much of which involves Complex PTSD. It is a partial peer to the trauma-focused therapy element of The Haven Project's work and serves a related but distinct population.

Direct peers

• Richmond Fellowship: Richmond Fellowship (part of Recovery Focus) provides community-based mental health services across the UK, including personalisation, recovery and crisis support. It is comparable in delivering high-touch, recovery-oriented mental health support to people with complex needs.
• Samaritans: Samaritans provides confidential 24/7 emotional support to people in distress across the UK, including those at risk of suicide. It is a direct peer in the crisis-prevention element of The Haven Project's service and a benchmark for non-clinical crisis intervention at scale.
• Hestia: Hestia runs mental health and domestic abuse support services across London and southern England, including crisis support, recovery programmes and community-based interventions. It is comparable in delivering front-line, recovery-focused mental health services in defined UK regions.
• Together for Mental Wellbeing: Together is a UK charity that supports people with mental health needs to live well in their communities through personalised support, housing, and group programmes. It closely mirrors The Haven Project's community-based, recovery-oriented model for people with complex mental health conditions.
• Rethink Mental Illness: Rethink Mental Illness supports people severely affected by mental illness, including those with Personality Disorder diagnoses, through local services, groups, and advice. It is one of the closest direct peers in the UK charity landscape, sharing the focus on severe and complex mental health and providing group and 1:1 support.

Others

• Childhood Trust: The Childhood Trust is a UK charity tackling child poverty in London. It is not a direct competitor but is comparable as a small UK charity funded by donations and grants, providing a relevant comparator for the funding-model and scale dynamics The Haven Project operates within.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thehavenproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Haven Project