Right Here

MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION WORK IN NE SHEFFIELD

Right Here Sheffield – ‘A voice and a choice for our mental health’. Right Here is a national programme that is working with local projects to change the way that services look after the mental health of young people aged 16-25.

Ensuring that young people have a say in the services that are developed for them is a major feature of the initiative. Public and Voluntary Sector services, working together provide support that young people will value and use.

Right Here is an exciting opportunity for us to build upon what we know already supports young people’s mental health and well-being as well as to pilot new initiatives. The Right Here project is developing a model of work, which uses a community development approach. It focuses on promoting and protecting young people’s mental health and emotional well-being by bringing together young people and a range of services and organisations to increase awareness, resilience, self-help and support for this age group. As a result of research and consultation during the bidding process, it was decided that the Right Here project would focus on the North East Community Assembly area of Sheffield. If successful it may be scaled up and replicated in the city and elsewhere.

SO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS?

Our four part-time Emotional Well-being Workers, Rena Smith, Angela Barrows, Lois Miller and Sean Harper (Left photo (below) with Project Manager Cherry Smith, centre), work alongside young people to carry out the project’s aims and objectives. The workers deliver initiatives at a universal level, as well as targeting groups of young people, in particular young people who are not in education, employment or training, long-term unemployed young adults, teenage/young parents and black and minority ethnic young people.

Activities designed with young people include: awareness raising workshops, peer support programmes, anti-stigma campaigns and mental health training for local staff.

INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE

Young people’s participation is central to this work and informs all stages of the project. The Young People’s Panel, STAMP, supported by Anna Spencer, our Participation Co-ordinator (Right photo (above) 3rd from right with The Young People’s Panel) helps to steer the project, as well as gaining the voice of other young people involved in Right Here activities.

Right Here is a collaboration between Paul Hamlyn Foundation, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no.5042279) and a registered charity (no.1102927) whose registered office is at 18 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AA, and Mental Health Foundation, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no.2350846) and a registered charity (no.801130), Scottish registered charity (no. SC 039714), whose registered office is at Sea Containers House, 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 9QB.