Thurso-based youth convenor talks of positive changes for mental health
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Youngsters have been making changes following the Highland Youth Parliament’s conference focused on improving support for young people’s mental health.
Highland Youth Convener Anja Johnston said she was happy to see young people taking control of their future.
The Thurso resident said: “Our recent conference was a much more focused discussion compared to previous conferences which I believe has given young people the tools to go away and have discussions with adults that can help them to implement change.
“The vision of our Mind Us campaign is now starting to become a reality and young people are taking their mental health needs into their owns hands.
“Across the Highlands we’ve got excellent examples of what can be done when young people are given the opportunity to take the lead in making positive changes to better themselves and their peers.”
High Life Highland Youth Development staff and young people have secured three years’ worth of funding from the Gordon Cook Foundation to continue to provide a youth support worker at Wick High School. Heather Manson’s role focuses on supporting young people with behavioural or emotional issues.
Heather recently completed a degree level course through UHI which focuses on mental health. The group is currently planning an online “safe space” group which aims to tackle poor transport links by having somewhere to socialise and build relations with trusted adults so that if they wish to speak about concerns, there’s an opportunity to reach out. Street work sessions have been running in Wick and Thurso as part of the Caithness Pathfinder project.
The team are finding fewer young people on the streets in Wick and there is demand for an increased number of indoor sessions. The team are in talks with Pulteneytown People’s Project to set up a weekend youth café for S1-S3 and S4-S6 pupils, offering young people access to youth workers to discuss problems or concerns.
