Youngsters visit mental health hub they co-designed and named
By Tom Hussey
A group of young leaders from Southwark who co-designed and named a mental health hub have visited it for the first time.
Young leaders from Coin Street, a charity which provides community spaces, toured The Nest drop-in centre in Rye Lane to see how their ideas had come to life.
The project is a calming space where children and young people can access mental health support without a referral.
As part of the planning stage of the new hub, children and young people from youth clubs and schools were consulted on how the service should be delivered, the interior design of the building and what it should be called.
The winning name – The Nest – was suggested by Liam Fernandes, 18, of the Old Kent Road, one of the Coin Street Young Leaders.
He said: “The reasoning behind the name is that a nest is a safe home where something can grow and spread its wings to leave.”
The Nest aims to support children and young people aged 11-24 by promoting the mental well-being of the whole family and providing parents and carers with information, resources and support to help them navigate the education, criminal justice or social care system.
It will offer one-to-one sessions, group work, and peer mentoring and is the only face-to-face service to exclusively provide early intervention and preventative mental health support for young people, their parents and carers in Southwark.
Joining the tour was deputy leader of Southwark council and cabinet member for children, young people and schools, councillor Jasmine Ali.
She said: “What started as a seed of an idea has grown and flourished into a truly landmark service, helping us get closer to our commitment to support 100 per cent of children with a mental health need.”
The service has been funded by Southwark council and delivered by Groundwork London, a community action charity, which recently secured nearly £40,000 from the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit to create a Parent/Carer Champion Network as part of The Nest.
Find out more here.
Pictured top: From left, Mary Oshinnaya, well-being coach at The Nest, Hannah Kashman, manager at The Nest, Cllr Ali and Genette Hogan, director of commissioning at Southwark council
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