London Underground and Thrive LDN partner on wellbeing ‘grab bag’ initiative at 25 busiest tube stations

London Underground, in partnership with Thrive LDN, launched a pilot ‘grab bag’ initiative at the end of last year at 25 tube stations for staff to have on hand when intervening with vulnerable people on the network.

Designed by Thrive LDN, the bags were introduced to provide practical support to those in need as well as aiding staff in signposting to wider support services, from mental health to financial concerns.

Since launching the pilot initiative, the bags have been welcomed by staff responding to any incidents on the network. London Underground is now exploring a further rollout of the bags across the network to further enhance safeguarding work.

The grab bags help bring together into one place a range of practical things, such as foil blankets, alongside mental health literature and guidance, such as Thrive LDN’s wellbeing cards and a First Hand witness to suicide support booklet. The bags also contain printed information for any young people and their families about the free NHS mental health crisis lines in London and information on other sources of support.

The initiative has supported London Underground’s ongoing safeguarding programme. The 25 London Underground stations selected for the pilot are where a greater number of interventions for vulnerable individuals typically are made or are some of the busiest on the network. The introduction of the bags coincided with an expected increase in usage of the Tube network during the festive and New Year period.

The development of the wellbeing grab bags on the London Underground is part of an ongoing partnership between Thrive LDN and London Underground to support the wellbeing of Londoners using the network.

Prior to the pandemic, in 2019 the number of suicide attempts on London’s tube network fall for first time in five years. In part, this was achieved through London Underground’s safeguarding programme successfully training staff across the network on how to identify and give the appropriate support to anyone who appears to be in distress. Alongside continued partnership working across multiple agencies. For example, Transport for London has also been a strong supporter of the #ZeroSuicideLDN campaign launched by the Mayor of London, to promote free, online suicide prevention training.

Thrive LDN director, Dan Barrett said: “We recognise that London Underground colleagues are dealing with various issues when intervening with vulnerable passengers, so the contents within the grab bags will help staff to signpost people to a range of relevant support services and professional help.

“We have made them bright orange, so it’s easy to spot and grab when needed. We’re delighted that the bags have assisted station staff in both situations which require immediate response, and those where signposting to other services may be necessary. We look forward to working with London Underground to support this initiative across the wider network.”

The use of the bags continues to be monitored by London Underground’s Safeguarding Support Team.