Young Minds Partnership
At the end of 2018, The Light Fund donated £100,000 to YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health.
This sizeable sum, the largest ever single contribution The Light Fund has ever made in its history, will fund a two year partnership on YoungMinds Parents Helpline, providing front line advice, practical guidance and reassurance to thousands of families in need across the UK.
About YoungMinds
YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health.
2018 was particularly special for YoungMinds, marking 25 years since the charity was founded. In this time there has been a much-needed shift in the conversation around mental health and vitally, the crisis in children and young people’s mental health is now widely recognised. Yet, for those who need it, help is still much too difficult to find: some 84% of parents of children with mental health problems told YoungMinds that they find it hard to get help for their child, and 76% said their children’s mental health had deteriorated while waiting for professional support. YoungMinds exists to break down the barriers to finding support, and make sure children and young people have the resilience to overcome life’s difficulties.
The Light Fund / YoungMinds Partnership
The Light Fund’s donation of £100,000 will fund a Helpline Adviser and training and support for two volunteers (for one day a week) the next two years as part of the YoungMinds Parents Helpline, providing fundamental work on the front line providing reassurance, advice and practical guidance to thousands of families in need across the UK.
The YoungMinds Parents Helpline is a national service, the only one of its kind, that offers a free and confidential service, which provides support and advice to parents and carers who are worried about the mental health, emotional wellbeing or behaviour of a child or young person aged 0-25 years.
It is estimated that through the partnership, over the next two years (to the end of 2020), The Light Fund will have helped support some 30,000 families through the Helpline. Commenting, Emma Thomas, chief executive of YoungMinds said: “We are delighted to form this two year partnership with The Light Fund that will enable us to deliver a life-changing service that will empower families across the country to address their children’s mental health problems. Many parents have told us that during the long wait for professional help, children can pick up self-harming behaviours and even drop out of school. In some cases, parents tell us that they have resorted to giving up their jobs in order to look after their child. These incredibly difficult situations can quickly result in great strain on the wider family. The Light Fund’s partnership with us on the YoungMinds Parents Helpline will alleviate that strain and provide invaluable support to those who need it.”
While the YoungMinds Parents Helpline is there for everyone, it is also envisaged that those working within the licensing industry, allied trades as well as on the retail side will make use of this invaluable service should they find themselves in a situation concerning a child or young person suffering mental health issues.
A special logo, incorporating both the YoungMinds and The Light Fund branding has been devised with a view to it being used on email signoffs to help spread the word about the service.
Click HERE to download a logo.
If you are worried about a child or young person YoungMinds’ Parent Helpline can offer confidential, expert advice: 0808 802 5544
Young Minds Registered Charity no: 1016968