Early Support Hubs appear to be valued by young people and have potential to be an adjunct to clinical services to help increase access to mental health support for young people, though limitations include low local awareness, limited capacity for acute needs, and small scale of services.
Key Findings
Results
Young people valued the easy accessibility of Early Support Hubs, including their open-access, no-referral model.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 demographically diverse young people aged 16-25 years.
Participants had used eight Early Support Hub services across England.
The hubs offer open-access support without a referral requirement for 11-25-year-olds.
Easy accessibility was identified as a distinct theme valued by young people through codebook thematic analysis.
Results
Young people valued the holistic approaches of Early Support Hubs, which go beyond clinical interventions.
Holistic support was identified as one of the key aspects of hubs valued by young people.
The hubs are described as offering holistic support rather than purely clinical or treatment-based approaches.
This theme emerged from analysis of semi-structured interviews with 20 young people across eight hub services.
The holistic approach was seen as distinct from and complementary to statutory clinical services.
Results
Young people valued a sense of community, friendship, and consistency within Early Support Hubs.
Community, friendship, and consistency were identified as a valued theme in the codebook thematic analysis.
This finding emerged from interviews with 20 young people aged 16-25 across eight different hub services in England.
These social and relational elements were distinct from clinical or therapeutic features of the hubs.
Results
Youth-led philosophies within Early Support Hubs were identified as a valued feature by young people.
Youth-led philosophies were one of four main aspects of hubs valued by young people.
This theme was identified through codebook thematic analysis of interviews with 20 young people.
The youth-led approach was seen as differentiating hubs from more traditional clinical service models.
Results
Early Support Hubs were found to be little known in local areas, representing a significant limitation of the model.
Low local awareness was identified as one of three main limitations of the hub model.
This finding emerged from semi-structured interviews with 20 young people across eight hub services.
Limited awareness may reduce uptake among young people who could benefit from the services.
The abstract notes there is 'no standardised model and considerable variation in the support offered.'
Results
Early Support Hubs have limited capacity to address more acute and complex mental health needs.
Lack of capacity to address more acute and complex mental health needs was identified as a key limitation.
This limitation was identified through interviews with 20 young people who had used the hubs.
The authors suggest hubs function best as 'an adjunct to clinical services' rather than a replacement.
High clinical thresholds for treatment and long waiting lists in statutory services were noted as the broader context for this limitation.
Results
The limited scale of Early Support Hub services was identified as a limitation of the model.
Limited scale of the services was one of three limitations identified in the thematic analysis.
The study included eight Early Support Hub services across England, reflecting variable and limited geographic coverage.
The limited scale was noted alongside the need for evidence to assess 'whether there is a policy case for wider roll out.'
Discussion
The study identified a need for evidence on populations served, support received, and outcomes to assess the policy case for wider rollout of Early Support Hubs.
Authors state: 'Evidence on populations served, what support they receive, and outcomes following support are needed to assess whether there is a policy case for wider roll out.'
The qualitative study involved 20 young people across eight hubs and provides experiential rather than outcome data.
There is described as 'no standardised model and considerable variation in the support offered' across hubs.
The findings highlight Early Support Hubs as a 'potentially promising model' requiring further quantitative and outcomes-based investigation.
What This Means
This research suggests that Early Support Hubs — community-based mental health and wellbeing services in England that young people can walk into without a referral — are genuinely valued by the young people who use them. Researchers interviewed 20 young people aged 16 to 25 who had accessed eight different hubs across England, asking them about their experiences. Four things stood out as particularly appreciated: the ease of accessing help without needing a doctor's referral, the broad and holistic support offered beyond just clinical treatment, the sense of community and friendship found at the hubs, and the fact that services were designed with young people's needs and voices in mind.
However, the research also identified some important limitations. Many young people in local areas simply do not know these hubs exist, which limits who can benefit from them. The hubs are also not well-equipped to handle more serious or complex mental health problems, meaning they work best alongside — rather than instead of — clinical services like NHS mental health teams. Additionally, the hubs currently operate at a small scale, meaning many young people cannot access them because there is no hub near where they live.
This research matters because young people face a well-known gap in mental health support: statutory services often have high thresholds for treatment and long waiting lists, leaving many young people without timely help. Early Support Hubs appear to fill part of this gap by offering accessible, non-clinical, community-based support. However, the authors note that more research is needed — including data on who uses the hubs, what support they receive, and whether outcomes improve — before policymakers can decide whether to invest in rolling these services out more widely across England.
Wright L, Griffiths J, Appleton R, Begum S, Clarke C, Hunt N, et al.. (2026). A qualitative investigation of young people's experiences and views of Early Support Hubs across England.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0347789