A CHARITY offering free residential stays to people in suicidal crisis has reopened its doors after two years of closure.

The Maytree is a respite centre in Islington that offers a short-term, non-medical place to stay for people at immediate risk of suicide – who might not have any alternative other than A&E.

“The idea behind Maytree is to offer somewhere non-medical for people to stay who would probably be otherwise heading to A&E,” said Michael Knight, co-founder and co-chair of the charity.

Mr Knight said the centre fills a gap in suicide prevention services, adding: “There’s nowhere else for people going through high-risk suicidal crisis to go other than A&E. Most people that came here have managed to get over the worst of their crisis.”

Run by trained volunteers and a board of nine trustees, Maytree provides a peaceful, home-like environment where people in crisis can stay for up to four nights.

The atmosphere is informal, friendly, and family style. Some guests come simply to rest and sleep. Others find comfort in talking with the volunteers, and can be offered one-to-one therapeutic sessions.

Mr Knight said that guests must be experiencing an immediate, high-risk suicidal crisis – but not be diagnosed with severe mental health conditions, nor be dealing with substance addictions, homelessness, or be under the age of 18.

“People can’t stay longer than four nights and never more than once,” he said.

The reason the charity does not offer a longer stay is that suicidal crisis is usually short-term, so their goal is to act immediately and avoid that guests push their stay to the limit.

“Providing a short-term, one-off opportunity puts pressure on them to make the most of their time and find a way back onto their feet,” Mr Knight said.

Maytree has been running since 2002 but was temporarily closed in March 2023 because they didn’t have enough volunteers to keep it going.

A new board of trustees took over in January 2025, retrained a team of volunteers, and welcomed their first guest back in April.

Now working with other services like NHS emergency departments, community health centres, and organisations like Mind, the charity is looking to grow its volunteer base.

“It is a very rewarding experience for a volunteer to help someone going through a high-risk crisis – whether it’s spending time, listening to, or talking with somebody who is going through a terrible time in their life,” Mr Knight said.

The charity is currently recruiting for Volunteer Befrienders. If you are interested in applying, then please email them directly on maytree@maytree.org.uk