Helping Canada Water Thrive: TACC
Thrive is an affordable work and makerspace in Surrey Quays that supports local start-ups and entrepreneurs to set up and grow their business. Powered by business charity Tree Shepherd in partnership with British Land, Thrive supports a range of businesses from beauty and wellbeing services to media production and food and drinks.
We’re celebrating some of the companies who have found success at Thrive.
Sonia founded TACC at Thrive with business partner Millie, to provide immediate therapeutic interventions for people in crisis
With waiting lists for therapy and emergency mental health support at a high, Sonia and her business partner Millie saw an opportunity to support the people of Southwark. The duo have both worked in the sector for 14 years. In summer 2020, just after the first lockdown ended, they founded TACC, which stands for ‘Therapy Accessible on Contact without Charge’. Their aim was to provide immediate therapeutic interventions for people in crisis, using a space at Thrive to offer private counselling sessions.
Sonia says: “I’ve lived in Southwark for over 20 years, and saw a gap locally in providing quality support quickly when a person is in crisis. It could be that they are feeling depressed/suicidal, or highly vulnerable, and would sometimes have to wait weeks to be referred. Some people might not be able to wait that long.
“We set up TACC two years ago when the pandemic was at its height and services through the NHS were even further stretched. People coming to us don’t need to be referred through a GP and we don’t take payment for the first session, meaning we can often see people within 48 hours of reaching out. Thereafter, if they continue to see us, our services are heavily subsidised, meaning we can offer sessions for close to £15, a quarter of what most local private therapists charge. The affordability of our space at Thrive helps us keep our costs down.”
Millie, who trained as a psychiatric nurse, has a private consultancy that she has operated from Thrive since 2018. She provides TACC’s therapy sessions, while Sonia, who previously worked in adult social work and mental health, manages most of the incoming enquiries, assessing what type of crisis a person is facing and what they need to address it.
“We don’t judge anybody’s background or compare crises when someone comes to us,” she says. “We’ve had people from all walks of life locally use our services: whether that’s women in domestic violence situations, homeless people or those at risk of losing their homes, or professionals under a lot of stress.
“Our two spaces at Thrive enable us to see people in a one-to-one situation in the smaller room, or offer group sessions and legal advocacy in the larger one. This flexibility means we can support the community in a multitude of ways, such as massage and regular wellness days, as well as signposting to other local resources.
“Thrive has also helped us reach a greater number of people by offering drop-in sessions in Surrey Quays shopping centre once a month, and it’s amazing to see the reaction from people who would otherwise not know how we operate or that this support is even there for them. Our ultimate goal is to get ourselves on the map and help reduce the strain on ‘official’ waiting lists, and hopefully the Canada Water development will enable us to do this further.”
To find out more or to make an appointment with TACC, please call 07814 951014
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner based in SE16 and want to find out more about how Thrive could support you, pop in to the hub Tuesday-Thursdays, or email Jamie-Lee: [email protected].
