Mental health services for youngsters to be improved

Major efforts are underway to improve mental health services for young people in the St Albans District.

The under-25s will be closely involved in both identifying gaps in the provision of services and finding solutions.

In the first stage of the project, they will be asked for their views in a survey on where more support is needed.

They will then help, through two youth organisations, to devise a range of initiatives to strengthen services. These will be launched over the next few months.

The work is being undertaken by the St Albans District Health and Wellbeing Partnership, an umbrella organisation for groups involved in promoting public health.

St Albans Youth Council (SAYC) and Youth Connexions are members along with St Albans City and District Council. 

SAYC is supported by Youth Connexions worker Debi Roberts. They have written two reports together investigating counselling services for secondary school students in the District.

They are now organising the survey of young people and will also include GPs and school teachers. They will report their findings to a future Partnership meeting which will prioritise any needed improvements.

Mental health problems that often affect young people identified in the SAYC report include stress associated with bullying and exam pressure, self-harm and eating disorders.

Other problems can include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, the impact of a bereavement, substance abuse and behavioural issues.

Mrs Roberts said: “I am proud to be a part of this project. I get to work with motivated young people who live in a district where they are listened to

“It’s too easy to assume as adults that we fully understand the problem and the best solution.  Co-creating services with young people is the right way forward.  It’s localism at its best.”

Young people wanting to get involved in SAYC are encouraged to do so by contacting them through their website: https://stalbansyouthcouncil.wordpress.com/contact-us/

SAYC also has a Twitter account, https://twitter.com/stalbansyc?lang=en

The Council will provide an initial £20,000 budget for what has been called The Young Persons’ Mental Health Project. This figure could rise to £60,000 through matched funding by Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group and Hertfordshire County Council.

Regular meetings of the project group will be held from January next year to check on the delivery of any new schemes and develop further ones. 

Councillor Alec Campbell, Portfolio Holder for Resources for St Albans City and District Council, said: “The Youth Council has done a lot of important work and the Partnership wants to help them continue with that.

“We want to develop a robust package of initiatives and an effective network of support for young people in the District. The fact that young people are closely involved in the work will help us get it right.” 

For the project, young people are defined as those aged 25 or under and who are living in or attend schools within the District.  

Notes: 

SAYC is a group of young people, aged 11 to 19, from the District who lobby the Council on youth issues, raise money for charities, carries out research and acts as a voice for the young. For more information, see: https://stalbansyouthcouncil.wordpress.com/

For more information on Youth Connexions, which provides guidance and support for young people, see: https://www.youthconnexions-hertfordshire.org/

For more information on the Health and Wellbeing Partnership, see here

Councillor contact:

Cllr Alec Campbell, Portfolio Holder for Resources, St Albans City and District Council. 

Tel: 01727 760750 Email: Cllr.A.Campbell@stalbans.gov.uk

Contact for the media:

John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City District Council

Tel: 01727 296130 

E-mail: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk