A bright yellow American school bus once used to ferry children to school across the U.S. is finding a new lease of life— this time as a mobile sanctuary for mental health for Mental Health Week next week. And in a world reporting that over 76% of people now say that have had a personal experience with mental health issues, and more than half of the population claiming to have suffered with some form of anxiety, it seems the free services of the Zen Bus are needed more than ever.

In a unique partnership for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 (12-18 May 2025), leading real estate investment and development advisor Delancey Real Estate has teamed up with wellness organisation The Zen Project to fund and bring the Zen Bus to neighbourhoods across the UK.

With free drop-in guided meditations, resilience workshops, practical wellness sessions and soundbaths, the initiative is designed to make wellbeing resources and experiences accessible to communities that often go without.

Over the course of the week, the Zen Bus will visit a number of Delancey’s schemes including Earls Court, Elephant & Castle Town Centre, Here East in Hackney, the Jean Stokes Community Centre in Islington, and Royal Priors Shopping Centre, Leamington Spa. There will also be dedicated sessions for local schools and NHS key workers throughout the week.

The Zen Project is a social enterprise, on a mission to offer a mobile sanctuary, bringing the benefits of Zen Sessions (a range of simple activities to improve mental health) to all from its fleet of converted American school buses. They believe in creating calm amongst the chaos and showing people how simple it can be to find some zen. For many people boarding the bus it may well be the first time they’ve paused all week, and in a world in which we are sadly still seeing a trend for a general decline in mental health, the bus and its sessions are needed more than ever.

Mental Health: A Pressing Public Issue

The Zen Project’s work is grounded in stark statistics. According to the Office for National Statistics, over 67% of UK residents report ongoing concern about the impacts of COVID-19. Meanwhile, more than 76% of people say they have personal experience of mental health struggles—whether directly or through someone close to them. Anxiety, in particular, has surged since the pandemic, with over 65% of British workers expressing concern about returning to office life. Mental ill health is also now said to be the most common cause of work-limiting conditions among those aged 44 years and younger

“These numbers tell us something important,” says Kaye Smith, co-founder of The Zen Project. “People are not just stressed—they’re overwhelmed. And many don’t know where to turn. That’s why we bring support straight to the street, to workplaces, to schools. The Zen Project is about showing people that wellbeing tools can be simple, practical, and part of everyday life.”

For Delancey Real Estate, the partnership reflects a broader mission to invest in communities—not just through bricks and mortar, but through meaningful social impact.

Jamie Ritblat, Founder and Executive Chairman of Delancey, explains why supporting this road-trip is so important: “Supporting mental health is part of our commitment to the long-term success of the neighbourhoods where we operate. The Zen Bus will be visiting locations where we’re actively involved because we want to support people in these communities. This partnership is a reminder that property isn’t just about buildings — it’s also about helping build healthier, more connected societies.”

From School Run to Mindful Retreat

The Zen Bus’s transformation is as remarkable as its mission. Once a working school bus in the United States—making over 100,000 school runs—it now features a warm, wood-panelled interior, created using 140 pieces of reclaimed timber and countless hours of volunteer labour. The bus took 49 days to ship from New York to the UK and required the removal of 34 original seats to make way for calm zones and community seating areas.

In the lead-up to the tour, volunteers reportedly consumed over 1,000 cups of Yogi Tea—and clocked up thousands of hours in meditation to ensure the experience reflects the grounding principles of mindfulness and stillness.

In cities that never slows down, the Zen Project offers a rare opportunity: to stop, breathe, and take a moment. And sometimes, that’s exactly what people need most.