Welcome to The Den: New venue opens in former 'shell of a building' next to Hebburn Helps with vision to support young people and boost community

The Den is situated next door to Hebburn Helps, the hardworking food bank and crisis response team, at 14 St John’s precinct and opens to the public this Monday.

The community hub offers a range of sessions and activities to be enjoyed by the community in a safe place.

The Den will also be open to young people on evenings where they can come in and chill out, have a game of pool or play on the games consoles to with the aim of keeping them off the streets and out of trouble.

The newly decorated building also features a ‘positivity wall’ featuring a range of motivational quotes to keep people’s spirits up and reminding them to aim high.

Angie Comerford, co-founder of Hebburn Helps, who has been part of the project, said: “This building was only supposed to be used for storage. We decided we needed to create something, it was pointless having this space just for storage.

"It was a youth community venue all along but I reached out to people on Facebook to ask what they wanted from The Den.”

As ideas flooded in it was prominent a men’s group was need as there wasn’t anything in the area where men felt could meet up and talk to each other. This was important to Angie having lost her father to suicide almost 10 years ago.

The Den will also be home to a knitting group on Tuesdays, and mental health and well-being support sessions on a Friday with a local psychology lecturer.

Angie said: “It was a shell of a building beforehand that required a lot of work. The guys from Mears Group spent about eight to twelve weeks renovating it. I don’t know what we would have done without them working their magic.”

The team at Hebburn Helps would like to send their thanks to volunteers, councillors, police, friends, family and businesses who have all helped make The Den a reality.

To find out more about The Den or what sessions are on offer pop along or ring the Hebburn Helps on 0191 489 9707.

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