The Pixel Fund is generously donating towards our Northern Hub project. The Northern Hub is a response to the continued increase in demand for YoungMinds services nationwide. Although our remit is UK-wide, our head office is based in London. Due to travel times and costs, we have limited delivery outside London and the South East, with work we have delivered usually being on an ad-hoc basis through temporary contracts. Pixel are helping us reach communities in need in the North of England.
In the North there is the highest proportion of children living in poverty and the highest numbers using foodbanks. Many of the risk factors for mental illness are linked to deprivation and poverty – people living in low income households are three times more likely to develop a mental health disorder and experience stress,anxiety and depression. The North of England has the highest death rates from suicide in the country, with the North East almost twice as high as London at 13.8 per 100,000 people.
The mental health of children and young people is in crisis across the country and having this Hub in the North will enable us to deliver more training, engage more schools, support more professionals and transform more communities than ever before. Located in Liverpool, the Hub will act as a base from which to promote and deliver the work of YoungMinds at a local level with trainers and facilitators working in and around the region. Over three years, we will do training courses for parents, teachers, social workers and mental health professionals so they know better how to help and support children and young people in their care. We will build links with community groups, local politicians and other people who influence policy in the area, and train young people to shape policy and raise awareness.We’ll also work closely with local schools to mainstream conversations about mental health.
With Pixel’s help, 50 young people will have the skills and confidence to inform and shape mental health policies,100 schools will be better equipped to support pupils to become more resilient and thrive in the face of adversity, and 900 parents and professionals will understand how to support children and young people with mental health problems.
On behalf of YoungMinds