Future Youth Zone represents somewhere safe to go, something positive to do, and someone trusted to talk to for young people aged 8-19 (or up to 25 with additional needs) in London’s most deprived borough, Barking & Dagenham.
Half of young people in our community grow up in poverty. In the cost-of-living crisis we are seeing more and more young people coming to the Youth Zone to talk to our Youth Workers about mental health and wellbeing struggles. With long CAMHS waiting lists locally, we knew we had to upskill out Youth Workers to be able to best support these young people.
We are so grateful to The Pixel Fund for awarding a grant of £5,000 to support our Mental Health First Aid Project, giving these frontline professionals the tools and time they need to help young people through difficult times.
Mental Health First Aid trained Youth Workers are now on the ground at Future Youth Zone, helping boost not only young peoples’ mental health and wellbeing, but also their confidence and self-esteem, social skills, relationships, and resilience.
Thanks to The Pixel Fund, more young people in Barking & Dagenham have inclusive access to mental health support in a social setting, helping them not only cope through the cost-of-living crisis, but thrive into adulthood.