Making sure mental health treatment is there for children and young people, when they need it, as soon as they need it, so that they can get on with living their lives to their fullest potential.
Here are some of the things young people have told us about the impact of our support on their lives.
At Y:AMHS, we know the difficulty of accessing mental health treatment first hand, and have also heard from many families struggling to get the support their child needs and deserves. We provide funding for private treatment for families in this situation who would otherwise be unable to afford to pay for expensive therapy. However, we can’t do this alone, we need the whole community behind us to make this possible. Please help in whatever ways you can, because with your help we can #changethestory for children and young people in our area.
Y:AMHS was launched in 2021 with a view to providing funding for private therapy for children and young people in our area, who would otherwise face debilitating waits for local mental health services.
Recent figures have shown that the number of young people developing a diagnosable mental health disorder has risen from 1 in 6 to 1 in 5 * - that's around 6 young people in every class - and only 1 in 3* will access the support and treatment that they need.
Through our funding allocations, we have been able to support Children and Young People to access treatment and support within weeks (Equine therapy slightly longer at around 3 months) and this has changed the course of their lives! Our service is sadly so badly needed, so any support you can offer would be more than appreciated. Feedback from young people and their families on this support has told us:
"She has been smiling again.."
"We've had no more self harming.."
"..her days don't look dark anymore."
"the impact...has been life-changing"
"..feel more comfortable being in bigger social groups and anxiety is more manageable.."
"{...} is for the first time in over 1 year open to engaging back in his education.."
If you want to find out more about the impact of our work, head over to our latest blog page to read more of what our young people have told us!
This year, we have allocated over £15,000 of therapy costs and have helped around 25 young people, thanks to the generous support of local individuals and organisations. This money cannot be raised from grants from other organisations and comes purely from money we and others are able to raise through fundraising activities, so we are really reliant on individuals and organisations to help us with this, and are so grateful for those who have made our work possible.
Our applications window is now closed and will not re open until we are in a position to be able to fund further therapy for children and young people in our area. In order to be able to continue with this life changing work, we now need to raise further funds and are reliant on the local community to help us to do that.
You too can get involved to help us #changethestory for our Children and Young People! Maybe you feel you could donate a small regular amount as one of our Y:AMHS Champions? Maybe you are able to give a one off donation? Or maybe you or your organisation are able to run a fundraising event to raise money for us? We are also looking for volunteers to help us with our own fundraising and other roles.
"It takes a village to raise a child."
Could you be a Y:AMHS Champion?
Y:AMHS Champions know that children and young people don't have time to wait months or years for mental health treatment - delaying treatment increases the chances of severe and acute illness and causes young people to miss out in education and developmental experiences.
Our Y:AMHS Champions give a small amount each month to make sure that children and young people in our area get the mental health treatment they need when they need it, as soon as the need it.
A Massive 'Thank You' to our supporters
If you or your organisation would like to support us by raising valuable funds and awareness of our work, please get in touch; we would love to hear from you! Or, you can find out more HERE