Business Details
34 Years
experience
Community Mental Health Recovery in London
Established in 1992, SRA is a community-led mental health organisation dedicated to empowering individuals to rebuild their lives through structured support, purposeful activity, and inclusive training. Our trauma-informed recovery approach acknowledges the impact of past adversity, creating safe, empowering environments where people can heal, grow, and thrive. We combine tailored support with real-world experience across four social enterprisescatering, cleaning, printing, and ITto equip trainees with practical skills, confidence, and connections for education, volunteering, or employment.Our team integrates professional expertise with lived experience of mental health challenges, fostering a uniquely empathetic environment. Unlike traditional services, our approach mirrors real-world workflows, offering structured routines that build purpose and participation in our social enterprises. We prioritise peer support, meaningful goals, and flexible progression, ensuring individuals advance at their own pace within a strengths-based framework.
Services
Catering Training
Cleaning Services
Printing Enterprise
IT Training
Details
- Year established: 1992
Highlights and features
- We offer trauma-informed recovery programmes grounded in lived experience
- Our social enterprises provide real-world vocational training in four sectors
- Team combines professional expertise with personal mental health experience
- Structured daily routines mirror workplace environments for skill development
- Flexible, strengths-based approach prioritises individual progression timelines
What people say
Life-changing support
Empathetic team
Practical training
Safe environment
Real-world experience
Services
Catering Training
Our catering programme offers practical training in food preparation, hygiene, and customer service. Trainees prepare daily lunches for participants and create buffets for external clients. The Volcano Caf pop-up provides real-world experience in a community setting, helping individuals develop transferable hospitality skills.
Cleaning Services
The cleaning team delivers professional services across churches, sheltered housing, and offices. Service users learn routine management, responsibility, and teamwork skills that support everyday independence and future employment. Daily transport to various sites ensures diverse practical experience in commercial cleaning environments.
Printing Enterprise
Our printing enterprise provides hands-on experience in design, production, and customer service. Trainees engage in all stages from concept to finished products using professional equipment. This retail-facing role develops technical skills, money handling, and client interaction capabilities through real commercial operations.
IT Training
Structured IT training covers basic computer use, office software, internet navigation, and email communication. Additional support includes job search assistance, CV creation, and application completion. Advanced training in specialist software like Photoshop helps build digital proficiency for modern employment requirements.
People
Julie El-Bahrawy
CEO
Julie leads SRA with extensive mental health sector experience. She combines strategic leadership with personal lived experience of mental illness, driving our trauma-informed approach and social enterprise model to create meaningful recovery pathways.
Caroline Kennedy
Senior Support Worker
Caroline provides expert support with over 15 years' experience in mental health services. Her background includes direct care roles and family experience with mental illness, ensuring compassionate, practical support aligned with our recovery-focused programmes.
Loli Toronjo-Hussain
Print & Copyshop Manager
Loli manages our printing enterprise with professional graphic design expertise. She brings commercial printing experience and personal mental health insights to create a supportive training environment that bridges technical skills with recovery needs.
Anna Agyeman
Catering Supervisor
Anna oversees our catering operations with culinary expertise and mental health support experience. She ensures safe, structured food service training while drawing on family experience with mental illness to connect with trainees effectively.
Hector Lopez
Cleaning Supervisor
Hector leads our cleaning team with extensive facilities management experience. His approach combines practical cleaning instruction with recovery support, utilising personal mental health insights to create structured, purposeful training environments.
Questions
What mental health support does SRA offer?
We provide trauma-informed recovery programmes combining structured support with vocational training across four social enterprises to build skills and confidence.
How can I access SRA's services?
Contact us via phone or email to discuss your needs. Our team will guide you through our structured day programmes and enterprise training opportunities.
Do you offer work experience opportunities?
Yes, our catering, cleaning, printing, and IT enterprises provide real-world vocational training with professional supervision and skill development.
What makes SRA different from other mental health services?
We uniquely combine lived experience with professional expertise in structured, business-like environments that mirror real workplaces for practical recovery.
Are your training programmes free?
All core training and support services are provided free of charge through our charitable funding and social enterprise model.
How does SRA support employment goals?
We offer CV writing assistance, job search support, and digital skills training alongside practical work experience to prepare trainees for employment.
Reviews (1)
Black Dot Digitial
Jun 05, 2016
Report
Brilliant, as well as offering employment to those who may find it hard elsewhere, they are also good at print/design etc and at a reasonable price!
