‘We’ve helped young people and families cope with the challenges of lockdown’
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Headstart Hull programme manager Gail Teasdale (far left) with the ‘Headstarters’ volunteers and Hull North MP Diana Johnson (third from right)
By Rick Lyon
Young people and families in Hull have been supported during lockdown thanks to essential and accessible support put in place for people with mental health issues.
Children aged 10-16 have been supported with issues including social isolation and anxiety by Headstart Hull, the citywide programme to provide prevention and early help to improve emotional health and wellbeing.
The team at Headstart Hull, which works with all primary and secondary schools across the city, as well as youth services, social care and the voluntary sector, put in place an additional package of support and guidance for young people, parents and carers as the country went into lockdown.
It included a dedicated Covid-19 advice section on the website www.howareyoufeeling.org.uk to be the trusted source for young people and families in need of help.
It features advice, support and free downloads on emotional and mental health during the pandemic, all agreed by young people as the information they felt they needed. The section provides information on self-care and tips for mental and emotional health, as well as services offering support and advice across Hull and nationally.
Young people have also been able to post their own blogs, detailing their personal experiences of coping with lockdown, as well as poems to express their feelings to help others cope during the difficult time.
The support was developed with the help of young people, who were asked what they felt they needed.
Headstart Hull has subsequently received feedback that a number of young people feel they have only managed to make it through because of the measures put in place.
Programme manager Gail Teasdale said: “It has been an incredibly difficult and stressful time for so many and has been particularly challenging for a lot of young people who already needed support with their mental wellbeing. Issues around social isolation have been significant, with a lot of young people feeling cut off from their normal support group.
“Our website is a platform of services for young people but as soon as lockdown happened, we opened it up to provide more self-care advice on emotional wellbeing for everyone. We also made sure everyone knew that services were still available if they needed additional support via phone or online.
SUPPORT: Headstart Hull produces a wide range of resources
“We produced a range of help guides, including how to deal with anxiety in lockdown, how to deal with sleep management – all the things people told us they were struggling with.
“We did the same for parents and professionals and put it all in one place. We also created a bank of resources for schools and other organisations to use during lockdown and for parents to use during home schooling.
“We’ve helped young people and families cope with the challenges of lockdown.
“We’re also running ongoing surveys with young people and parents and carers so we can continue to understand their worries or concerns and provide information and support on these issues as they emerge.”
The HeadStart Hull partnership is led by Hull City Council and is a National Lottery Community Fund programme designed to help children and young people with positive mental health and well-being, thrive in their communities and bounce back from life's challenges.
It organises and runs numerous young people-led awareness campaigns, including one focused on suicide prevention prior to lockdown.
Working with Hull poet Vicky Foster, the two-year campaign saw young people write a series of poems on the theme ‘You Are Not Alone’. These were then recorded and broadcast as a soundscape at a number of locations around the city, such as the Humber Bridge, the pier on the marina and the Scale Lane bridge. The poems were then released in a book.
Training was also run for schools and community staff so, if young people needed to talk, staff felt able to provide appropriate support.
HeadStart Hull participation an co-production officer, Clair Atherton said, “One of the biggest strengths of Headstart Hull is our co-production with young people.
“We have a bank of volunteers who age from 12 to 25, some of whom have been working with us for a number of years on different campaigns. They essentially determine what we do, so all our services and campaigns are ones that young people themselves have identified they wanted or needed and they have helped us develop.
“Our young volunteers meet every two weeks. They bring ideas to the table and let us know what the issues are that are affecting them. We get a really good steer about what services young people need and how we can make them accessible to anyone who needs additional support.”
HeadStart Hull is one of six similar programmes being run across England. Its services include:
Counselling
Emotional resilience coaching
Peer mentoring
Drop-in sessions at lunchtimes in schools
Community-based group work
School-based group work.
Gail said: “Our services are absolutely vital to ensure young people get support at the earliest opportunity. We work with partners across the city to support young people with mental health issues who might otherwise fall through the cracks or only get help when they are in crisis.
“The help we have provided during the pandemic is the perfect example of the difference we make.”
To find out more, or to access its services, visit www.howareyoufeeling.org.uk.
Comments from some of the HeadStart Hull volunteers, the ‘HeadStarters’
“HeadStart changed my life, so now I want to change the lives of other young people” - HeadStarter, aged 16.
"I've enjoyed all the things I've done with HeadStart. When we did the funding panel I was worried that when I spoke people would laugh at me because of my speech problem but everybody was respectful and nobody took the mickey” - HeadStarter, aged 15.
“I really like doing the HeadStart stuff, it’s fun, and it’s making a real difference to young people” - HeadStarter, aged 17.
“I’ve been involved in a few things but often things are agreed but then don’t happen and there is no change, so you lose hope and think ‘what’s the point?’ That’s why I like volunteering with HeadStart. I feel like Clair is on our level and is one of us but is very involved and determined to do everything she can to make sure things happen quickly. So, we get to see results and that we are really making a difference” - HeadStarter, aged 20.
“Thank you to HeadStart Hull for all the opportunities they have given me” - HeadStarter, aged 18.
“It’s great. I really enjoy volunteering with HeadStart and know I’m making a difference to young people in our city” - HeadStarter, aged 18.