A CAFE set up to support people’s mental health is expanding into Tranent after securing its future.

Keep The Heid Mental Health Cafe was set up in Haddington last November, with a view to getting people to come together and talk about their mental health.

Now the group is receiving funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and Fa’side Area Partnership to not only continue in Haddington but set up a new cafe in Tranent.

Emma Jackson, who is behind the group, was delighted with the announcement and has begun to search for premises in Tranent.

She said: “We were just looking to expand in general and felt Tranent was, in terms of covering the west part of East Lothian, the best thing.

“It has got a very different demographic from Haddington.”

The cafe currently meets in Haddington’s Trinity Centre every Friday from 7pm to 9pm.

Anyone aged over 16 is welcome and there is no need for a referral or formal diagnosis.

There is also no need to book, as the cafe operates on a drop-in basis.

Each week, the cafe helps 10 to 12 people and Emma added: “Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“People are finding it does improve their mood and some people are really becoming quite reliant on it.

“It is the anchor to their week and people feel safe and listened to.”

One in four people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year.

In 2019, there were 833 suicides across Scotland.

Additional facilitators and volunteers are being looked for to help with the new group, with news announced on its Facebook page.

The expansion of the cafe was warmly welcomed by MSPs Paul McLennan and Craig Hoy.

Mr McLennan, who is the East Lothian MSP and a former ward councillor for Dunbar and East Linton on East Lothian Council, described it as “brilliant news”.

He said: “In recent years we have seen how important it is to have mental health responses rooted in the community.

“An additional cafe will make a huge difference to the lives of folk in Tranent.

“I wish the team at Keep The Heid Cafe all the best in making it happen.”

Meanwhile, Mr Hoy, a South Scotland MSP, said that the cafe played “an essential role in tackling issues of suicide, social isolation and loneliness in Haddington”.

He said: “These issues are endemic in our society and it is crucial that targeted grassroots groups get the support they need to save lives and support vulnerable people across our communities.

“The cafe was originally funded by the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which is open for a second round; over £700,000 worth of funding is available for a wide range of community groups and projects in the south of Scotland and I would strongly encourage eligible local community groups to apply.”