An Accrington charity has been granted £60,000 to support their work in offering better mental health resources to children and young people in Hyndburn.
The new UK Youth Fund – Thriving Minds programme donated the money to Ynot Aspire, a charity who have been working within the community since 2008, and for the past five years have focused on improving young people’s mental health.
UK Youth are funding a total of 99 organisations in an effort to offer better mental health support and provision through youth work and have confirmed that funding is secured for the next three years.
UK Youth partnered with the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust earlier this year to launch Thriving Minds, an ambitious fund for projects to improve mental health support and provision for young people through youth work.
The charity said: “This comes at a time where research has found that 87% of ‘trusted adults’ – often youth workers – working with under 25s in the community frequently support young people with their mental health but feel underequipped to do so.”
Research shows that more than 40 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 say they feel lonely often or very often however less than one in five young people feel youth loneliness is taken seriously as a social issue that needs better awareness and support.
The Hyndburn charity said: “In July 2020, the prevalence of mental health problems in 5-22 year olds went up to one in six, up from one in nine in 2017 . This comes at a time when support for young people is suffering.
“Children are waiting up to three years for access to mental health care in some parts of the UK. In the last decade more than 4,500 youth work jobs and 760 youth centres have closed, as over £1bn funding has been cut from the sector.”
With Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust being the worst impacted for out-of-area mental health placements, additional funding is vital.
The Accrington charity Ynot Aspire are dedicated to supporting young people experiencing mental health problems through their ‘Mental Health Champions’ initiative which trains pupils in local secondary schools to ensure that the mental health needs of young people are being met.
In the last five years, the local charity has made drastic improvements to the community. They have seen a 22 per cent reduction of young people not in education, training, or employment and 74 per cent reduction in first time offenders.
With the grant provided by UK Youth Fund, the charity will be able to continue improving the lives of young people in Hyndburn and better support the volunteers and staff who dedicate their time to supporting those who need help.
The charity are ‘delighted and thrilled’ to be a part of the project with the 99 organisations chosen by UK Youth Fund.
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