Mind How you Go!

Once upon a time, the Town Hall’s offices in Seale Street were used by the Parish’s Honorary Police, with the Magistrate’s Court right next door. When I started as Constable our meetings would occasionally be disturbed by the shouts and curses of prisoners on remand being ushered into the court from the prison cells which are still present at the back of the Town Hall. With the construction of a new Magistrate’s Court and the transfer of responsibility for Welfare, or Income Support, to the States, the Parish’s Honorary Police was able to move into the Old Fire Station in Nelson Street, freeing up both the former courtroom and the Seale Street offices. These have been rented out to a variety of organisations over the past fifteen years, including the Community Bank, the Jersey Youtheatre, and the Alliance Française, while the Old Magistrate’s Court has hosted dozens of meetings, presentations, art exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances.

Mind Jersey in Seale Street

Our new tenants in Seale Street, Mind Jersey, are providing a drop-in centre for Islanders seeking support with their mental health, and given the pressures we are all under at the beginning of 2023, this new service is timely: whatever is giving us concern – whether it is the global situation with war in Ukraine and other international challenges, such as climate change, or issues closer to home, like the rising cost of living, and the impact of recent events including the tragic loss of life at Haut du Mont, Pier Road, before Christmas, and the recent floods – there will be support to be found at this new base for Mind Jersey’s services behind the Town Hall. I am very pleased to welcome the Mind Jersey team to the Town Hall and wish them every success as they continue to develop their services for our parishioners and all Islanders.