Service to help children's mental health
A new drop-in service helping children and young people with their mental health and emotional wellbeing has launched in Shrewsbury.
The Children’s Society’s Beam service will provide immediate support for children and young people aged between 0 and 25 years every Thursday upstairs at Palmers Coffee Shop on Claremont Street.
It will include weekly drop-in sessions for young people and those in the community who can visit without needing an appointment or a referral. The charity will also be launching a further drop-in service for young people in Telford in October.
Its launch comes as figures show that an estimated 4,000 children and young people are living with a diagnosed mental health problem in Shropshire, and in Telford and Wrekin it is estimated that there are around 3,100. Beam will focus on immediate one-to-one and group support for children who urgently need it. The aim of the service is to provide support, preventing mental health crises and responding quickly, making it easy for young people to get help.
Sarah Cresswell, area manager at The Children’s Society, said: “We are incredibly proud to be opening the Beam service in Shropshire. We know that for many years, young people have struggled to access support for their mental and emotional health concerns, and often a lot of focus is placed on formal treatment, as opposed to listening and guiding young people to find the right decisions for themselves.
“We are actively looking for members of the public who may be interested in becoming a wellbeing volunteer. No experience is necessary, just a passion for young people’s mental health, and enthusiasm to learn through our bespoke training and supervision programme.”
The wellbeing service will include a staffing team of youth workers, therapists and wellbeing volunteers to ensure children and young people feel welcomed and relaxed.
The service is also interested in practising professionals such as nurses, psychology assistants, health care assistants, occupational therapists and counsellors who would like a voluntary position. If you are interested, contact Leroy McConnell at Leroy.McConnell@childrenssociety.org.uk
The wellbeing drop-in session runs from 1.30pm – 6pm.
