Harrogate pupils welcome new text service for mental health

A new mental health service for children and young adults in North Yorkshire has been launched.

Children’s mental health charity Place2be is now in its fourth year of children’s mental health week.

This week (5-11 February 2018) highlights the importance of ‘being ourselves.’

Place2Be invites everyone to come together and celebrate the unique qualities and strengths in themselves and others.

The Duchess of Cambridge spoke out earlier on in the week in support of all children being themselves.

Harrogate offers many services to aid children and young people who are suffering with mental health issues such as CAMHS and Harrogate’s Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Clinical Commissioning Group has recently been involved in launching a new service called Compass Buzz.

Compass Buzz is a school mental health and wellbeing project in North Yorkshire.

The project offers training for schools on how to deal with mental health and wellbeing by training teachers and staff to deal with difficult issues, it also offers them support in referring children on to get more specialised support

The service also offers in a confidential text messaging service for children aged 11-18 across North Yorkshire.

By texting the service, they will be able to receive confidential advice, support and signposting from a wellbeing worker within one day via text.

The service launched a few weeks ago and already has young people texting in.

Team leader Emma Tymon said, “The feedback we’ve received already has been really good from the young people that have texted into the service already.”

The service, explains Emma “offers help and advice or if we think that a service could help them, we can signpost them of where they can go to get that support.”

Students Stray FM spoke to at St Aidan's School, Harrogate, thought that the idea of Compass Buzz can only be positive.

One student said, “I think the anonymity of that sounds really good.

"You can compartmentalise mental health a bit so you don’t have to worry about it at school if you know there is someone else to talk to.”

However, schools in the area are already doing a lot to improve their mental health and wellbeing services.

The students (pictured above) also referred to the many outlets of support available to them including school nurse and Chaplin. 

One said, “From personal experience it is good here at Aidans.

"Specifically, the nurse referred me straight away to counselling unit called Compass reach and I know others who have had the same experience.

"The school is good at referring student on or if you just want a drop-in session that is also available.” 

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