The Government will pour an additional £3.3m into expanding local projects that prevent mental illness in children and young people, it has announced.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today revealed that it will use money from the national Health and Wellbeing Fund to invest in 23 local projects across England, including counselling and mentoring and arts programmes targeting people aged 25 and under.
This funding is additional to the £2.3bn earmarked to transform mental health care in the NHS Long-Term Plan.
The money will be used to fully fund the chosen projects in their first year, while additional joint funding from commissioners will be agreed separately for their second and third years.
Funded projects
The 23 projects that will receive funding include:
- LifeLine Community Projects in Barking and Dagenham will receive over £298,000. It works with young people most at risk of poor mental health, giving preventative support to stop issues escalating
- York Mind will receive £50,000. The money will be used to expand its Arts Award programme, which connects young people to the arts
- The Proud Trust’s Peer Support Project in Manchester will receive over £23,000. The project supports LGBT young people through life-changing events, including discovering their sexuality or gender and coming out
Giving young people tools to manage mental health
Mental health minister Nadine Dorries said: ‘We know children and young people today face many pressures at home and in their social and academic lives but giving them easily accessible mental health support at an early age can help them thrive later in life.
“That’s why the Government is investing billions every year to transform mental health care, and giving more money to innovative, community-led projects run by people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to supporting young people by providing them with the tools and means they need to manage their own mental health.’
