Developers support a new initiative which will offer free online counselling sessions to young people in Elephant and Castle, in a bid to tackle rising cases of anxiety and depression.
Stop.Breathe.Think (SBT) – a national mental health charity – is running a scheme to allow young people to access free mental health support.
This comes as existing mental health services report being under strain following a rise in cases of anxiety and depression.
The charity currently runs this scheme all over the UK and this one is aimed at youths from the Elephant and Castle area.
It will see them matched to specific counsellors for six weekly online sessions tailored to their needs.
Support is easy to access and the campaign is being promoted via a QR code on Stop.Breathe.Think. posters that can be scanned by those who require assistance.
The posters will be distributed across the area, both in hard copies and digitally through newsletters, job fairs, shops, and offices and hosted on the Elephant & Castle Town Centre website.
The site welcomes young people to the service and provides a brief explainer video to illustrate what will happen if they need support.
They can then proceed to book their first session, where they will add their details, including their postcode, so operations can confirm who they are helping and where they are from.
SBT also provides ‘wellbeing drop-in’ sessions, which are short 30-minute calls with a fully trained on-call counsellor.
This scheme is being funded by Developer Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre.
Jamie Ritblat, Founder and CEO, Delancey said: “Over the last ten years, we have supported a number of their youth programmes, but this one is particularly close to our hearts. We know that the pressures facing young people today are getting tougher and long waiting lists for mental health support often mean that those in the most vulnerable positions in our local communities are left without adequate access to the help they need.
“That’s why we’re working with Stop.Breathe.Think. to support young people in Elephant and Castle, an area we are invested in for the long-term as we help to redevelop its town centre, to make sure that the support they need is available when they need it, for free.”
Diana Barranco, Community Director of Elephant and Castle Town Centre said: “We are thrilled to be able to support the delivery of this vital service in Elephant and Castle. Their mission, to help those in need by providing counselling services to young people in the local area when they need it and at such short notice, is incredible.
“Mental health support is crucial, and we are proud to be able to make a difference in the lives of these young people.”
Dan Charlish, Founder of Stop.Breathe.Think. said: “Since we launched during the pandemic, we have seen a continuing and growing demand for the service. The impact of covid has been huge for young people and their mental health and enabling them to get the counselling support they need when they need it has been our goal since the outset.
“Support from Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre to enable us to launch our service in a targeted area of London is a fantastic step forward, and one we hope to replicate across the country.”