The Youth Counselling Project

Seaford-based The Youth Counselling Project is delighted to report that it has received a £3,000 grant from The Edward Gostling Foundation. The Foundation provides grants to other charities that support people of all ages living on low incomes who have a physical and/or mental disability or long-term illness. The grant will pay for 10 sessions for each of six local students in need of counselling by one of the appropriately trained therapists that The Youth Counselling Project funds.

This welcome news came at the same time as the Government’s announcement that it is to allocate £79m to boost health support for children and young people, with the number of mental health support teams in schools and colleges set to grow nationally from 59 to 400 by April 2023. However, that is up to two years away and in the meantime at local level the Project has to raise funds for its commitment this year to help 80 students attending Seaford Head and three primary schools.

There is evidence that prompt treatment for mental health issues connected with depression, anxiety and self-harming can effect a cure. New NHS research suggests that one in six youngsters may now have a mental health problem, up from one in nine in 2017. This latter figure seemed shockingly high four years ago and resulted in the foundation of The Youth Counselling Project.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, was quoted on a government website as saying: ‘We know that high levels of poor mental health and problems accessing mental health services were a problem for many children and young people even before the pandemic, and that coronavirus has disproportionately affected younger people. Over the past year our young people have faced a whole load of additional challenges, including school closures, loneliness and isolation, and the knock-on effect of the recession causing problems for families such as debt, unemployment, housing and access to benefits. ‘There is still lots more work to be done to ensure that every young person gets the support they need for their mental health. But this [the £79m Government boost] is a positive step forward in cementing mental health at the heart of recovery from the pandemic and beyond.’

NHS Mental Health Director Claire Murdoch said: ‘The pandemic has turned our lives upside down and hit children and young people particularly hard.’ Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said: ‘For many young people this pandemic has amplified the feeling of lack of control which can have such a large impact on their mental health and wellbeing.’

Supporting The Youth Counselling Project means you will be assisting growing numbers of depressed, anxious and possibly self-harming young people to be helped quickly back to happier lives.

While the Project searches for grants to cover the big sums needed, it also needs continuous local support, not only for the money but for proof of public awareness. To find out how you can help please visit www.tycp.org.uk. Andrea Hargreaves