What are care spaces?

Care spaces are areas within events or venues where people can take time out and receive peer support without judgement. This may include mental health first aid for someone in distress, or a calm atmosphere to work through their experience themselves.

Characterised by comfort and psychological first aid, care spaces provide valuable opportunities for harm reduction.

You might also know these as ‘safe spaces’. We use the term ‘care space’ as safety can mean different things for different people.

What care spaces can provide

Care spaces offer support and mental health first aid in the form of:

  • A quiet, comfortable, low stimulus environment for people to get away from the hustle and bustle of an event

  • Non-judgemental psychological first aid through peer support

  • Basic physical care, including water, food and warmth or cooling

  • A welcoming atmosphere, making it easy for people to seek help, especially if they don’t feel comfortable talking to other event staff

  • A way to prevent people from experiencing further harm

  • Easing pressure on other event services, such as medics, by caring for people in distress

  • Time - care space staff are able to support people for as long as they need

What is peer support?

A peer is someone who comes from the same community as the person in need of help.

Peers can also include people who have a similar cultural background, age, gender identity, or any other trait that helps them understand what the other person is going through.

When people feel vulnerable, research shows they’re more likely to seek help from people they see as peers. They are less likely to seek help from people in uniform, or people in ‘official’ roles.

What care spaces don’t do

Care spaces provide short term help only, for the duration of an event. Care spaces do not:

  • Provide medical care. Care spaces cannot replace medical first aid, or assess and monitor anyone who may need help from medics or doctors.

  • Provide therapy, relationship advice or help with personal issues that exist outside of the event, although these may come up in conversation while the person is in the care space.

  • Hold people against their will. People using care spaces need to be free to come and go. It could be unsafe if care space staff are expected to prevent people from leaving.

  • Replace security.

  • Act as a holding place for people who are overly intoxicated on alcohol, unless this is agreed to and discussed as part of an event organiser’s responsibilities under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

Head to…

For event organisers & venues

for more info on hosting a care space at your event.

For care spaces staff

for info on planning and running a care space.

“The services provided by the care team have been invaluable for our events, essentially giving us extra eyes and ears on the floor… This has allowed us to cultivate a better atmosphere in our spaces, ensuring attendees are looked after without being policed in their behaviour. Since introducing this team to our events, we have noticed a dramatic downturn in dangerous incidents."

- Casper de Wit, Ghost Media