About

Opening the Door to Better Mental Health

Open Door is reimagining what mental health support looks, sounds and feels like.

Using lived experience to create evidence-based programmes in non-clinical settings, we create spaces people want to be in, with people they want to spend time with. Our home is in Birkenhead, Wirral, but our support knows no bounds.

People recover better when they feel they belong.

OUR STORY

Open Door Charity began in a small shop in Liscard on the Wirral in 2011, founded by Lee Pennington.

Open Door Charity began in a small shop in Liscard on the Wirral in 2011, founded by Lee Pennington. The earliest phase of the charity was shaped by lived experience, grassroots determination, and a desire to offer immediate, creative, nonclinical mental health support to young people. The charity was born from Lee’s own experience with anxiety, the loss of a close friend to suicide and a passion for young people who needed someone who understood, not just clinical leaflets.

Lee, from Wirral, wanted the charity to be rooted in the community he knew. He intentionally chose a small shop so that if only a few people came, it would still feel warm and full rather than empty or clinical. The aim was to create a space that felt normal, peer led, and creative, not like a traditional mental health service.

From day one, Open Door was built around a simple belief: support should feel human.

What started at our Liscard store

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shaped support through lived experience

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grassroots determination

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and a desire to offer immediate, creative

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nonclinical, mental health support

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to young people in Wirral.

Growing together

Bloom-ing in Birkenhead

From that tiny shop, Open Door Charity expanded significantly and migrated to Bloom Building in Birkenhead.

Open Door Charity has grown into a nationally recognised mental health organisation, being awarded the 2024 GSK IMPACT Award, delivered in partnership with the Kings’ Fund, one of the UK’s most prestigious health sector honours.

Our future at Joy

Joy is here

Joy opened in summer 2026, using lots of love and human connection – the forever home of Open Door Charity. The Wirral community came together to breathe new life, colour, and energy into a part of the world that is rich in history, heritage, and human stories with an emerging cultural and wellbeing agenda. Joy is the birthplace of a mental health support, social action, arts and culture third space.

Mission Statement

Together our members, mentors and staff transform cultures around mental health. The times when we need support become moments of meaningful change. We all have opportunities to connect with brilliant people, transformative tools, and inspirational places.

Values

Human

Human conversations and connections that happen naturally, without pressure.

Fire

Creating spaces that feel warm, creative and inspiring.

Professional

Professional help and support, with minimal waiting lists or complex referrals.

Visionary

Visionary support that is led by passion, dedication and lived experience.

Vision

Open Door exists to shape meaningful change in mental health. We create inclusive communities, joyful places and evidence-based programmes that empower people to be mentally well.

Meet the team