We’re proud to announce that, thanks to funding from the Havering Clinical Commissioning Group, our SW!TCH Minds programme is currently supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Havering.
With demand for mental health services for young people increasing dramatically in the wake of the pandemic, our team are working in partnership with three other organisations—HBBS Counselling, Relate, and the Sycamore Trust—in order to provide more comprehensive support to meet a wider spectrum of needs.
Our dedicated Youth Development Workers are working with a cohort of 20 at-risk young people for a six-month period via weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions held in schools. Using our specialised VIP (Vision, Identity, Purpose) mentoring framework, young people take part in a shared journey with their mentor as they work towards clear goals for their future. The young person’s needs are always at the heart of our mentoring, while the mentor provides them with the trusted adult many of them say they need. Our team are also be working closely with school and pastoral support teams, as well as the young person’s family, to ensure a joined-up approach that fully captures the needs of each mentee.
Positive activities: a football session in Havering
This mentoring work is supported by a range of positive activities—such as sports, arts and craft, and workshops—held weekly within the community. These give young people from all backgrounds a space to come together, form new relationships, and build community. These activities also give our team an opportunity to engage with young people from the wider community as well as provide advice and guidance to them as required.
Young people who are dealing with more complicated issues can be referred to our partners to receive specialised support. This includes qualified counselling regarding anxiety and depression, loneliness, bullying, bereavement, and parental issues via HBBS Counselling, counselling, and family therapy via Relate, and specialist support and counselling for young people with autism spectrum disorder or learning difficulties via the Sycamore Trust.
The mentoring programme has helped me in so many different ways; to see that the teachers are not targeting me, and to focus more on my work.
LifeLine is very good–it has helped me to understand the teachers more and build a relationship with them.
Young person
Having a mentor is a good and helpful experience. It’s always good to have someone to talk to because it can be a very hard time in your life. And it’s best to have someone that is understanding of your situation or problems. They talk to you like a friend and respect your limits, rather than a student with heaps of rules to follow. They understand you and teach you right from wrong in the best possible way.
Young person
