Young people in Llanelli who are struggling can now walk into a café in the town centre and talk to someone, with no referral and no waiting list.
Y Stryd is open to anyone aged 11 to 24. It works like an ordinary café, but the staff are trained and there to talk, and there are sensory facilities for anyone who needs them.
It is run by Llanelli Mind, which opened it on World Mental Health Day, Saturday 10 October.
The café sits right next door to the charity’s own base, behind a giant mural that reads “Y Stryd, close to mind”. Llanelli Mind is also the charity behind the Frozen Nutz cold-water swimming group.
Hyrox, 100-mile walks and golf days: how Llanelli raised £200,000
The charity says the £200,000 it took to open the café came from more than 70 local businesses and hundreds of people.
Since it got the keys in February 2025, supporters have climbed the Welsh Three Peaks, run half marathons, walked 100 miles and taken on 24-hour Hyrox events, alongside black tie galas, golf days and a festive fun run.
Backers including Castell Howell Foods, housing association Beacon Cymru and developer Edenstone Homes joined deputy chief executive Freddie Newton-Evans and the team for the opening. So did the fundraisers, and the young people who helped shape how the space works.
Chris Ferrier, the charity’s community engagement and fundraising officer, said: “This building has been brought to life by the community, and it will be for the community.”
“The kindness that exists within these walls is extraordinary,” he said.
No referral, no queue: what makes Y Stryd different
For most young people, getting specialist mental health help means being referred first. In Swansea Bay, the NHS service for under-18s told councillors this summer that around half the referrals it gets are sent elsewhere after triage.
When Swansea’s crisis sanctuary for young people opened in Llansamlet in 2024, the way in was a referral from the NHS crisis team.
At Y Stryd, a young person can simply walk through the door.
Mind Cymru wants that everywhere. It says the previous Welsh Government promised in 2025 that anyone seeking mental health help would get it the same day, without a referral, and it is pressing the current Welsh Government to deliver it across Wales.
Tom Boyce, Mind Cymru’s head of networks for Wales, said: “Everyone should have access to mental health support that makes them feel seen, and that first conversation should be easy and immediate. Y Stryd will do just that.”
Where to find Y Stryd, and where to get help now
For Chris Ferrier, the payoff is the young people who come through the door. “I’ve no doubt that many children within Carmarthenshire will be supported to thrive in future because of Y Stryd,” he said.
Opening times and services are posted on Y Stryd’s Instagram account, y.stryd.
Mind’s Infoline is on 0300 123 3393, 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Anyone under 25 in Wales can contact Meic on 080880 23456 or by text on 84001, Childline is on 0800 1111, and Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 116 123.
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