A mental health startup has launched a new mini-site for people in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Knus (a Community Interest Company) calls itself the UK’s first free, confidential, mental health peer support and coaching service. Now it has launched LeicesterMentalHealth.com, where users must first answer a bot’s initial questions and then can start an online chat with a trained and experienced peer support coach.

Peer support coaches are people with lived experience of mental health and offer inspiration on how to overcome mental health issues, rather than provide diagnosis, treatment or therapies.

Knus’ main objective is to help those in need of mental health support free of charge within hours not months. It boasts partnerships with Department for Work & Pensions, MPs, the NHS, councils, food banks, education, financial institutions and the emergency services.

The startup is entirely volunteer driven and was incubated at Hatch Enterprise in London last year.