How the Ermine Exchange is redefining community support

The Ermine Exchange Coffeehouse and Wellbeing Hub in Lincoln is far more than a beautifully designed café. It is a living example of what becomes possible when communities, local organisations, health services, and individuals come together around a simple but profound principle: care should be personal, relational, and co-created with the people it aims to support.

Alison sat down for a chat with Simon Nicoll, Project Lead for The Ermine Exchange,  and Lois Delong, Community Connector with Bridge Church Lincoln. Together they painted a vivid picture of a space shaped by and for the people who use it every day. Their reflections reveal essential themes for anyone interested in community transformation, personalised support, or the future of social care.

Listening first: Community-led design

What makes the Ermine Exchange unique is not just what it offers, but how it came to be. Rather than arriving with a predetermined plan, the project began with an open-handed question: What matters to the community?

As Simon explains, the City Council and Bridge Church approached Alive Church not with instructions, but with trust:

“They weren't really prescriptive… it was much more of a ‘we’ve got some money,  and we really want to work with the local community to develop something that will be of real value.’”

A major consultation, engaging residents, businesses, schools, and local services, revealed the depth of social isolation and the need for welcoming, everyday spaces to simply be together. Out of this, the idea of a community-designed coffeehouse emerged, not as a commercial gesture but as a social one.

This commitment to authentic listening continues today.

Simon: “Co-production was very much at the forefront… the community themselves [must] have the first and most valuable voice to shape what happens.”

The result is a hub that feels rooted, relevant, and owned, not imposed.

Valuing the community by valuing the space

The Ermine Exchange is intentionally beautiful. Not in a flashy, corporate sense, but in a way that communicates respect.

Simon: “Why not this community? Why aren't they worth enough to have something beautiful?”

Creating a thoughtfully designed environment signals belief in the people who use it. It challenges assumptions that communities experiencing disadvantage should accept “good enough.” Instead, it says: You deserve spaces that lift you up.

The café looks like somewhere you might find in central London, but its atmosphere is unmistakably local. People can grab a coffee, read in a quiet corner, play games, meet friends, or speak privately with a mental health practitioner in the discreet pod tucked in the corner.

It is a place where people can arrive as they are - without appointment, referral, or expectation.

Partnership as a practice

The power of the Ermine Exchange lies in partnership - not as a buzzword, but as daily practice.

Lois describes the community networks she helps lead: “It’s genuine partnership, genuine relationship… open door. Anyone can come and be a part.”

From NHS mental health teams and Social Prescribers to council staff and local charities, professionals now see the Exchange as a natural meeting point. They use it for drop-ins, quiet conversations, and warm handovers that avoid the pitfalls of traditional, clinical signposting.

Simon explains the motivation: “People don’t have relationship with services, they have relationship with people… If we can build a relationship with the community and with services, then someone can get a warm introduction - on a sofa with a coffee - rather than having to trawl the internet or take a bus into town.”

This isn’t replacing services; it’s making them human, local, and accessible.

Personalised support through everyday encounters

The most powerful stories from the Exchange are not about programmes, but about people.

Lois shared one example of a resident who struggled even to leave the house. Over several meetings, her confidence grew, first meeting outside her front door, then outside the Exchange, then inside the café itself.

“To see the confidence growing… is just absolutely brilliant.”

Simon added another story: a woman recovering from domestic violence who barely made eye contact at first. Over weeks of gentle support in a welcoming, non-clinical setting, she has now asked about volunteering.

“From an absolute recluse to now wanting to engage in work… it’s just brilliant.”

These are not isolated moments. They are daily occurrences.

The team hears similar stories regularly: a man who pops in for a cuppa en route to the bookies, volunteers who grow into paid staff, residents who feel safe enough to initiate their own craft groups or events.

This is personalised care in its purest form: support shaped not by a system’s agenda but by individuals’ needs, readiness, and strengths.

A model with potential far beyond Lincoln

What's happening at the Ermine Exchange aligns directly with national ambitions for more community-based approaches in health and care.

Simon notes that when NHS England published its plan emphasising community-focused delivery:

“We were trying to fly our flags and jump on the chairs because this is what we've been trying to do.”

And crucially:

“We think we’ve got a model that is replicable… not identical elsewhere, but with learning that could really work.”

The Exchange demonstrates that when you invest in relationships, trust communities with the design process, and create spaces where professionals and residents naturally mix, the impact is profound.

Start with people, and everything else follows

The Ermine Exchange is a testament to a simple truth: when you honour people’s voices, build on their strengths, and create spaces that feel safe, warm, and human, transformative things can happen.

It's not the coffee that changes lives, it's the conversations.
It's not the building, it's the belief it represents.
It's not the services present, but the relationships that make accessing them possible.

Simon: “If all we ever do is make a successful coffeehouse, then we've absolutely failed… it has to be about people.”

The Ermine Exchange offers a powerful reminder for communities everywhere: personalised care begins not with a system, but with a space - and a commitment - to truly see and value one another.