Supporting York’s wellbeing through the Communities Centre

York St John University Communities Centre is a welcoming space that brings together students, staff and community members to improve wellbeing through free (or low cost), accessible services. The centre offers a range of support that includes counselling, coaching, and group sessions.

Below is a list of the services currently available:

One to One Support

Counselling

• About: Our counselling service offers counselling sessions to adults aged 18 and over, usually provided through face to face sessions based at our Centre. We also offer online and telephone sessions.
• Location: York St John Communities Centre
• Fee: Based on a sliding scale, from £15 to £55 per session (www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/counselling/counselling-fees-and-how-to-pay/)
• Dates & times: Face to face sessions are available at the following times: Monday to Wednesday: 9.00am to 9.00pm and Thursday and Friday: 9.00am to 5.00pm. Online and telephone sessions are available at the following times:  Monday to Wednesday: 9.00am to 9.00pm and Thursday and Friday: 9.00am to 5.00pm
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/counselling/
• Self-referral: https://yorksj.solvefit.co.uk/csr/

Coaching for Wellbeing

• About: Our coaching for wellbeing service offers coaching sessions to adults aged 18 and over.
• Location: Online or via telephone.
• Fee: Based on a sliding scale, from £30 to £50 per session (www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/coaching/coaching-fees-and-how-to-pay/).
• Dates & times: Coaching sessions are available at the following times: Monday to Thursday: 9.00am to 9.00pm and Friday: 9.00am to 5.00pm.
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/coaching/
• Self-referral: https://yorksj.solvefit.co.uk/csr/

Groups and Drop-ins

Breastfeeding Group

• About: Treasure Chest aims to provide new families a chance to talk with peer supporters as well as other families who are breastfeeding or combination feeding.
• Facilitated by: Treasure Chest
• Duration: 10:30am to 12pm
• Location: York St John University’s Chapel on Campus
• Fee: FREE
• Dates: Every Tuesday
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/drop-in-sessions/#Breastfeeding

Bereavement Support Group

• About: A free online support group for people who are bereaved or experiencing grief.
• Facilitated by: York St John Communities Centre
• Duration: 4:30pm-6:00pm
• Location: Online
• Fee: FREE
• Dates: Every Tuesday for 10 weeks, commencing on the 24^th of February 2026
• Further information: https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/bereavement-services/#BereavementSupportGroup
• Self-referral: https://yorksj.solvefit.co.uk/csr/

Bereavement Café

• About: Come along to one of our cafés for bereaved people, to help you understand what you are going through.
• Facilitated by: York St John Communities Centre
• Duration: 1:00pm-3:00pm
• Location: York St John University Campus
• Fee: FREE
• Next Date: Wednesday 10^th December 2025
• Further information: https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/bereavement-services/#BereavementCafe
   

Children and Young People

Community Language School

• About: The Community Language School caters to the language learning needs of children aged 6 to 13 years from migrant, multilingual families as well as those for whom English is currently the only language in use.
• Duration: classes are run on Saturday afternoons for 1 to 2 hours.
• Location: York St John University Campus
• Fee: FREE
• Dates: The school year typically runs from September to May with breaks from December to January, and March to April.
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/community-language-school/
• Referral: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/community-language-school/enrol-your-child/
• Volunteering: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/community-language-school/apply-to-volunteer/

Creative Literacies Hub

• About: A free service which welcomes parents, carers, and their children, who would like to learn effective ways of approaching reading and creative writing. We have 2 programmes you can attend: Supporting Reading at Home, and Creative Writing Together.
• Duration: Doors open from 3.30pm but sessions will start nearer to 4.00pm to allow for the school run. Sessions end at 5.00pm, and both programmes last for 6 weeks.
• Location: York St John Communities Centre
• Fee: FREE
• Dates: TBC
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/children-and-young-people/#Creative-Literacies-Hub
• Referral: https://yorksj.solvefit.co.uk/csr/

Other Services

Event and Space Hire

• About: We have a variety of rooms available for hire whether you need a place for meetings, workshops, or special events. Available spaces include client rooms of different sizes, a meeting room, and a group room (suitable for different types of events).
• Availability: Monday to Wednesday from 9.00am to 9.00pm and Thursday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. We may also be able to facilitate bookings on weekends.
• Location: York St John Communities Centre
• Fee: Client rooms are £20 per hour, or we provide a day rate at £100. The group room is £40 per hour, or we provide a day rate at £170. The meeting room is £37 per hour, or we provide a day rate at £150.
• Further information: www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/communities-centre/event-and-space-hire/
• Hire process: To hire one of our rooms, please download the enquiry form (https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/media/content-assets/communities-centre/YSJ-CC—Room-Hire-Request-Form.docx) and then send it to ysjcc@yorksj.ac.uk.