A report released last week from the Education Policy Institute stated that 133,000 young people had been turned away from Mental Health Services across England in 2019.
Stroud based charity, The Door, is all too aware of the situation currently affecting services for young people in Gloucestershire. Over the past year it has seen referrals into its Youth Emotional Support provision double. “We know that the NHS Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service is under immense pressure,” Barrie Voyce, director at The Door reports. “Often those young people who do get an assessment are referred directly to services like ours, or Teens In Crisis. We also know that many GPs bypass the system by referring directly to us – so the figures may be even worse than the EPI report.”
The Door provides 1:1 mentoring for any 11-25 year old who asks for help so long as they live or go to school in the Stroud District. The service is largely delivered by volunteers and the charity doesn’t receive any funding from the NHS for the service. “We are constantly recruiting and training new volunteers to keep up with referrals but it’s getting more and more difficult – our waiting list for mentoring is growing,” says Barrie. “We have some ambitious plans to increase the service and introduce some other provisions which will enable us to help even more young people, but in order to do that we need to raise another £30,000 a year.”
Following the Christmas period youthworkers at The Door reported an increase in mental health issues in young people due to the stresses and strains of home life, upcoming school exams and the pressure of materialism. The charity works closely with schools, social care and other services as well as parents and carers to provide holistic support for all young people.
“Our next training course for volunteers starts in February, so there’s still time for anyone interested to apply – just give us a call or go to our website”
If you can help The Door make a difference by donating you time or would like to make a financial contribution towards their work please get in touch:
01453 756745, thedoor.org.uk, info@thedoor.org.uk
In response to the BBC’s article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-51049726