Vulnerability Support Hub

The Vulnerability Support Hub is a hub and spoke model and has an embedded multi-disciplinary mental health team that works collaboratively with the police and health providers to support the mitigation of counter-terrorism risk by providing robust safeguarding strategies for individuals referred primarily into PREVENT who have mental health vulnerabilities.

Three pilot Vulnerability Support Hubs (VSH) have been implemented nationally - one in the North, one in the West Midlands, and one in London. The team in the North cover the North West and North East regions.

The Northern Vulnerability Support Hub covers 12 police force areas and 19 community and mental health trusts across both regions.

The VSH use psychological formulation techniques and structured professional judgement to support the management of individuals who have a mental health or wellbeing concern and who are vulnerable to radicalisation.

The Mental Health Team of the Northern VSH forms part of the Prevent Initiative. The VSH purpose is to safeguard vulnerable individuals who have mental health problems and who are at risk from radicalisation by supporting health care providers in their role in providing care and treatment for this vulnerable group. As health care professionals the VSH are focused on working in partnership to discourage stigma and assist individuals to access the care they need.

The aim of the VSH is to improve the outcome for those referred to PREVENT who have a mental health and neurodiverse conditions by working collaboratively with health providers to ensure individuals referred:

• Have timely access to appropriate services and treatment
• Build and enhance their protective factors
• Have appropriate mental health safeguarding in place.