Children & young peoples’ Mental Wellbeing

Who we are Leading Health & Wellbeing Charity Established in 1973 (previously known as Sandwell Mind) 2013 disaffiliation, KPG was born Diversification in terms of geography and types of services provided Link between adult, CYP and Family Services – first commissioned work (CYP) in 2013

What we do We provide a range of services for CYP, Adults and families: http://www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk/our-services CYP specific: Emotional Wellbeing (South Staffordshire) Primary Mental Health Workers (PMHW – Sandwell) UPFront (Sandwell) BEAM (Sandwell)

Current Prevalent Issues Children & Young People Self- Esteem Low Mood Family Breakdown Self-Harm (thoughts and sometimes actions) Anger/Aggressive Behaviour Social Anxiety/Isolation Poor Coping Skills Peer Relationship Issues   Families Poverty – linked to unemployment Housing Low Levels of Emotional Resilience Low inter-generational academic achievement Lack of ‘community’ Unawareness of and difficulty in accessing services Lack of access to positive social activities

Role of the third sector Benefits of Engaging the Sector: Already working at a community level (knowledge, trust, reputation) Flexible – an ability to respond creatively Able to access a range of funds (sometimes) Less bureaucracy Partnerships Feedback demonstrates that we have been able to provide: Short Waiting Times High Contact Numbers Good Outcome Rates  

Sandwell – Primary Mental Health Workers Multi-disciplinary/Co-located services Primary Mental Health Workers (PMHW) Sandwell 6 Towns/6 COGS (YOS, LAC and CSE) Multi-agency Teams include: Targeted Family Support Workers, Domestic Abuse Advocates, Troubled Families Employment Advisors, Early Help Social Worker, Primary Mental Health Worker and Business Support Creative, flexible, proactive (and reactive) approach to demand and needs

Challenges facing the third sector Expectations Being seen as a credible peer (importance of smaller charities) Funding Increase in demand for services Resource Pressures (including increased monitoring and regulatory changes) Competition Uncertainty

Opportunities in accessing Support Greater opportunities to take on public service roles Heightened awareness of emotional health and wellbeing Normalisation Greater access to services via self-referral (particularly at a prevention level) Delivery of services within schools (venues close to home) Digital services (combined with traditional methods of intervention) Co-located/Multi-disciplinary Services  

Barriers in Accessing Support Ongoing stigma – lack of understanding Gender (splits in access) Cultural considerations Language, new communities and unaccompanied CYP Lack of ‘whole family’ support – looks at needs in isolation Lack of knowledge/awareness of services Complicated referral processes Long Waiting Times Short Intervention Periods

Moving forwards Prevention Balance between the funding of preventative services , statutory and crisis care Investment in Prevention – not at the cost of statutory or crisis services Support & Opportunities for Third Sector Local response to partnerships UPFront   

Contact details: Claire Dale (Director of Operations) claire.dale@kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk 0121 565 5605 www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKaleidoscopePlusGroup Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleidoscope_PG YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KaleidoscopePlus Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-kaleidoscope-plus-group