By young people, for young people
500 children are referred to the NHS for anxiety every day. That’s the same as one every three minutes. Young people are waiting far too long to get the care they need. But what if there was a way for teenagers to receive support before they reach crisis point? Time for young people is exactly that. A wellbeing support hub in Newham created with young people from the outset.
Getting involved
Getting involved
A wellbeing drop-in service needs to feel welcoming and accepting to the young people that might want to use it. That’s why it was really important to involve teenagers from the local area, so that they could have a say. “I wanted to be a part of a change in my borough. It sounded pretty fun to meet people and make changes,” says Ana. “I feel like this gave me a voice.”
Getting involved
Sadie, another young person, weighs in “I think the fact that we’ve been designing it is literally the best thing ever because then, you know, the people that are working with us are really patient with us and they listen to every single one of our ideas.”
The young people also got to help recruit people to work at Time for young people. “The skills I thought people should have were: being inclusive, being able to communicate with anyone that comes in,” says Ana.
“What we wanted to make sure is that people have positivity, someone you can actually talk to and that you can express your feelings to,” Grace added.
A community effort
For some of the young people who got involved, Time for young people was an opportunity to give others in the community the support they feel they missed out on. “My motivation for getting involved was my experiences early on in life and I thought that if things went smoother than what they did, life would be a lot easier,” says Sadie.
“I think the service will benefit Newham by allowing the young people here to express themselves, having less stress and more fun and enjoying youth,” Ana says.
Vital support
Vital support
Early intervention means providing mental health support when young people first find themselves struggling with their mental health, before it gets to crisis point. It can help stop crisis in its tracks and get young people the help and care they need. Grace says “The problem of access is time because I feel like some people don’t really have a lot of time. With Time [for young people], at least they just get to walk in and just have a talk one on one.”
“Drop-in sessions are very important because it allows people to just have that sort of freedom, you know, whenever they’re ready they can talk,” says Sadie, “It’s based around you and no one else.”
Safe from harm
Thanks to the police, Katie was saved from experiencing this trauma. And thanks to us, she was able to get the support she needed to feel safe long into the future.
A source of pride
The young people have lots to be proud of with the work they’ve done for Time for young people in Newham, and the opportunities they have had. “When we went to the houses of Parliament, I was quite proud of that and I really enjoyed that because it meant that other professionals could hear what I wanted to say,” says Sadie, “It was just really nice to be heard.”
“[Designing the service] was an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life where I met new people, and got new ideas.” - Ana.
Now, it's your Time.
Time for young people from The Children’s Society offers free help for children and young people, whatever’s on their mind. Young people can walk in and access support to work through how they’re feeling, as many times as they need to.
