North Yorkshire to mark World Mental Health Day

Only nine percent of children and young people, and six percent of their parents, said they had found it easy to get the mental health support they needed.
World Mental Health Day is next WednesdayWorld Mental Health Day is next Wednesday
World Mental Health Day is next Wednesday

That is according to two recent surveys by charity Young Minds, who carried out the research in the build up to World Mental Health Day on Wednesday, October 10.

North Yorkshire is marking World Mental Health Day next week and celebrating many initiatives around the county to support people both young and old.

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The focus for this year’s World Mental Health Day is helping children and young people to look after their mental health, a priority that has already been identified by North Yorkshire County Council and its partners as part of wider work to improve the mental health of everyone.

“In North Yorkshire, we are working hard with our partners to deliver services to support young people’s mental health,” said County Councillor Janet Sanderson, Executive Member for Children’s Services.

“Initiatives include reducing waiting times to access youth mental health support services; providing a service called Compass Buzz, that trains health and education professionals to provide emotional and mental wellbeing support in schools; and a new service that supports children and young people experiencing a mental health and wellbeing crisis.”

County Councillor Michael Harrison, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration said: It’s great to celebrate the mental health and wellbeing support we are providing for our children and young people in North Yorkshire.

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“It’s also great to know that this support won’t stop when they leave school or college: the County Council and North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are investing in locally-based support services for anyone aged 18 and over living in North Yorkshire who has mental health issues or concerns, and their family members and carers.

“Whatever their age, helping people improve and maintain good mental health is one of our key priorities. Our new range of mental health and wellbeing services are open access so people can self-refer, and people accessing support will have the opportunity to have their say in how the services they need are being delivered.

“They will form an important part of the work that we and our partners are doing to raise awareness of mental health issues, and address concerns about levels of mental health support in the county”.

Despite having considerable financial challenges, the County Council has protected social care mental health spending and has invested in additional specialist staff, as well as supporting wider mental ill-health prevention through its Stronger Communities and Living Well services which tackle loneliness and social isolation. It is also developing support programmes to reduce the risk of self-harm and suicide amongst vulnerable adults.