‘Mental Health and Me’ workshops for young people

A Community Grant of £3,000 will help the Lucy Rayner Foundation to run ‘Mental Health and Me’ workshops for local students at Three Rivers Academy in Walton on Thames.

The Lucy Rayner Foundation aims to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health issues in young people and change the way mental health is perceived by society.

The interactive workshops, delivered by experienced facilitators, will give students in Years 9 and 10 the tools they need to manage their own mental wellbeing and better understand what is needed to take care of themselves.

Becky Rayner, of The Lucy Rayner Foundation, said “The funding we have received allows us to work with schools such as Three Rivers Academy who have stated that these workshops would be beneficial for their students to help with engagement, self-esteem, confidence, anxiety, and resilience. These are all topics that need to be addressed.”

Promoting personal health and wellbeing is one of Walton Charity’s five funding priorities. The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues and there is a growing need for mental health support particularly for children and young people. Research from the Centre for Mental Health shows that 1.5 million children and young people under 18 in England will need new or additional mental health support; and data from NHS Digital shows an increase in diagnosable mental health disorders among young people from one in nine in 2017, to one in six in 2020.