Mental Health Champions

Co-designed

We involved young people from the outset to help design our materials and messages to make sure it connects with the people the service is aimed at. We also recruit and support young people to be able to deliver the programme. The result is a youth focused service that supports young people to help themselves.

Peer Support

Our peer support element recruits, supports and trains young volunteers to become mental health champions. Our champions have access to six developed workshops, each focusing on different areas of mental health, increasing awareness, removing stigma and advising on easy to use coping strategies.

Key Adults

The programme offers four workshops to help key adults support the young people they come in to contact with. The workshops deal with topics such as anger, anxiety, depression and self-harm, offering practical advice on how they can begin the conversation with young people and also how their actions can help have a positive impact.

Counselling

We recognise that peer support services should be offered as well as and not instead of professional services. We also know that it can be very difficult to access publicly funded counselling services and so Mental Health Champions offers a counselling service to those young people who need additional help but do not meet the referral criteria for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Funded by

“I love YMCA as an organisation and I love what YMCA do for young people. You provide a positive and safe place for young people to discuss their feelings.”