YPCS

Could you use your lived experience of supporting your child's mental health challenges to help others?

We are running a pilot project funded by the ICB Cambridgeshire to allow children, young people and their families to access a timely and appropriate mental health support.

- The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a parent/carer with lived experience of supporting their child with mental health challenges.

We are looking for a Parent Peer Lead who is passionate about improving Children and Young People’s Mental Health and the role parents/carers play.

We will be running a group to help parents meet, share their experiences and empower each other while navigating mental health services. You will work in conjunction with a child psychotherapist who will co-facilitate the group and offer therapeutic support where required.

- Contract Details

Contract type: Self employed

Start date: September 2024-April 2025 (extension depending on funding)

Hours: 2 hours every other Wednesday from 5.15pm-7.15pm (flexibility required for the first 2 months for development)

Location: YPCS, Yaxley, Peterborough.

Salary: £16 per hour

- How To Apply

We welcome informal conversations about this post. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

If you are interested in this position and you feel you match the person specification, please send your CV and Covering Letter to [email protected] by 9th August 2024.

Closing date: 9.08.2024

Interviews: 15.08.2024

YPCS actively promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. We match the charities needs with the skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

The Mental Health of Children and Young People survey conducted by NHS Digital found that young people aged 11 - 16 with a probable mental disorder were five times more likely to have been bullied in person. These young people were also more likely to have been bullied online.

This is one of the many reasons conversations around mental health and reducing stigma are so important. By having open dialogues and answering questions, we can help young people understand the difficulties their peers may be facing.

We'd like to share this brilliant list from Money Saving Central that shows where kids can eat for free this summer!

Places Where Kids Eat Free (or for £1) During The 6 Weeks Summer Holidays 2024!
Full List & Updates 👉 https://moneysavingcentral.co.uk/kids-eat-free

A reminder that these fantastic sessions are coming up very soon! Check out the information below to find out more details and take part.

We received this moving piece of feedback from one of the young people we have supported.

Accessing support is an incredibly brave step for a young person to take. To hear we make a difference shows how vital the work of YPCS is, and inspires our team each and every day in the work that we do.

The fantastic BoxingFuturesUK will be running some sessions over the summer! Please see the images for the full details of what's on offer! 👇

We feel very privileged to announce that we will be working with the Fenland District Council as part of the Fenland SVD Higher Needs Project.

We will be providing Wellbeing Mentor Training and Supervision to help support the young people involved in this project.

We would like to give a big YPCS thank you to New Look, Serpentine Green for choosing us as their charity of the summer!

From now until October, the New Look store team will be raising funds to help bring our services to the young people who need them. We are so grateful to all the New Look colleagues for recognising how important the work of YPCS is and for their support.

We would like to give a big YPCS thank you to Adam, Amber and all the customers of Higgsy's for their continued support. A little (or a lot) of change dropped into our yellow pot really does make such a difference to the young people we support.

We would like to give a big YPCS thank you to Comparethemarket for funding our fabulous garden transformation at the Wisbech Annabelle Davis Centre!

Our beautiful grounds were in need of some tending to and thanks to Compare the Market's generosity, the Annabelle Davis Centre is an even more welcoming space for our young people and families.

If you or your company are able to lend us your time or your skills to help support us and our young people, please email [email protected]. There are so many ways to make a big difference!

It's the Benefact Group Movement For Good Special Awards and your nomination for YPCS could win us £5000 towards our campaign!

Please follow our link below to find our unique nomination form. It only takes a minute to fill in and could make a huge difference to the young people we support.

Nominate now! - Movement for Good awards We could receive £5,000 in the Movement for Good draw.

Shopping through easyfundraising.org.uk makes such a difference to YPCS. When buying everyday items like a food shop or big one-off purchases like a holiday, everything you buy at over 8,000 online brands can turn into free funding and support for us.

All you need to do is sign up to easyfundraising to get started. A few minutes of your time can help us continue making a real difference to young lives.

You shop. Young Peoples Counselling Service gets money. For free. Help us when you shop with 7,000+ brands. Join now.

This week is Men’s Health Week.

Mental health is just as important as our physical health, although it may not be as readily recognised and talked about. This week aims to raise awareness around the mental health challenges faced by males and encourage them to be open about their difficulties and seek support.

The charity Mind reports that 2 in 5 males admit to regularly feeling worried or low. Over a third say social media has a negative impact on how they feel. 10% of men experience suicidal thoughts when feeling worried or low. The NHS report that 40% of men shared that they would only seek support if they were experiencing thoughts of self-harm or su***de.

At YPCS, we acknowledge that anyone can experience mental health difficulties regardless of their gender and aim to break stigma around males expressing vulnerability and seeking support.

The decorations have been going up at the Annabelle Davis Centre!

At YPCS we are a safe, inclusive and supportive space for all young people.

YPCS will be at the first ever Fenland Pride!

Please come along to visit us at our support stall to meet our team. We are so proud and excited to be part of this amazing event!

Here at the YPCS we proudly support LGBTQIA+ young people and their families and we wish you all a Happy Pride Month.

🌈SAVE THE DATE 🌈

The first ever Fenland Pride will be taking place on Saturday 6th July! We will be hosting the event with the support of The Kite Trust at The Queen Mary Centre in Wisbech: https://www.queenmarycentre.co.uk/

For more information, check out our website: www.fenlandpride.co.uk

Did you know that those who identify as LGBTIQ+ are more likely to experience a mental health problem?

Identifying as LGBTIQ+ doesn't cause mental health problems but the challenges LGBTIQ+ people face, such as stigma, bullying and discrimination, can all have an impact upon mental health and well-being.

The YPCS team stand in support with the LGBTIQ+ community and are here for all young people.

Have you used the services YPCS offer?

Are you the parent or carer of a young person who has received our free counselling and therapy sessions?

As part of our campaign we are seeking young people who have experienced our service to share how coming to counselling and therapy has helped them. We welcome short video clips being sent to us (details below) or you can visit our Annabelle Davis Centre to answer a few questions.

If you or a young person you know may be interested, or you have a video clip to share, please contact us at [email protected].

We have supported young people for 30 years, and together we can keep our services supporting them for more.

A survey conducted by YoungMinds found that over 70% of young people have sought mental health support in the last two years.

Statistics like these show the need for young people to be able to access timely, confidential support. It is services like the those provided by YPCS that give young people this vital support from fully qualified counsellors and therapists.

Can you help us so we can continue to offer the services so many young people need?

If you would like to fundraise for us, or have a story or an idea you'd like to share to fuel our campaign, please contact us at [email protected].

You can also donate directly to our campaign on our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/saveypcs

We now have our fantastic supporters wall up at the Annabelle Davis Centre in Yaxley to celebrate the amazing businesses and organisations who contribute to YPCS. We are so grateful for all you have done, and continue to do, for young people and for us as a charity.

If you would like to get involved with the campaign and add your name to the wall, please email [email protected].

If you are able, donations can also be made directly at our JustGiving page - https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/saveypcs

Thank you again to all who help make a real difference to young lives. 💙

We were incredibly touched to hear the story of Mick Jungic, who spent so much of his life passionately supporting young people. Mick worked in youth clubs from the age of 17 and then continued to work with youth services, helping to run the Farcet, Sawtry and Folksworth youth clubs.

Mick also donated his time to running activities in the summer holidays, being Father Christmas at the local shop and DJing for the Farcet primary school discos.

Sadly, Mick recently passed. His daughter, Emma, has continued his legacy by choosing to support YPCS with donations from Mick's funeral.

We thank Emma and all of Mick's loved ones for their kindness and generosity, and we thank Mick for all his contributions to improving the lives of young people.

It's the last day of and we've kept the movement going!

Therapist Ellie has been engaging in full body movement rocking out on the drums while Play Therapist Kirsty has been out exploring the woods with two inquisitive little pals!

We hope this week has encouraged you to build more moments for movement into your life. Starting now can form the foundation for continuing healthy habits, improving both our mental and physical health.

We have some mindful Friday movement in support of !

Therapists Shama and Becca have been practicing their yoga poses at our Annabelle Davis Centre this afternoon. Physical movement doesn't have to over exert you; moving our body in intentional, thoughtful ways can also positively impact our well-being.

Our furry friends have been helping us get moving in support of !

HR & Finance Manager Katie and her gorgeous dog dodged the rain for a lovely walk. Spending time with a pet can help reduce loneliness, depression and anxiety. Combining this quality time with physical exercise can give us a real boost.

Do you have any favourite dog walks? Let us know in the comments!

We've been getting moving in support of !

One our Clinical Leads and qualified therapist Marcia has been getting busy in the garden. Being amongst nature and green spaces can help us relax. Gardening can also give us a sense of achievement and boost confidence and self-esteem.

Join us in taking your moments for movement this week!

We've been getting moving in support of !

The Wisbech team made the most of the sunshine with a lunch time walk. Taking a movement break like this can help reduce tension, stress and mental fatigue and increase our energy and motivation.

What will you be doing this week to find your moments for movement?

Happy from The Young People’s Counselling Service. This years theme is ‘Movement: Moving for our Mental Health'.

Whether it’s a morning dog walk, dancing round the kitchen to a favourite song or hitting the football field with your team, movement has a huge impact on our mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health UK found that 56% of people surveyed reported that exercising regularly improved their mental health, so let’s get moving this Mental Health Awareness Week.

We would like to give a big YPCS thank you to the volunteers from Comparethemarket who have been working on our sensory garden! This is a tranquil space at our Annabelle Davis Centre in Yaxley where visitors and staff can relax and unwind (especially in this beautiful weather!).

We are so grateful to those who donate their time, services and skills to YPCS. 💙

May is Teen Self Esteem Month!

The month is all about raising awareness of how important it is for teenagers to feel confident about themselves and be self-aware.

Being a teenager is a time of big changes, discoveries and self-exploration. Some may find this time more difficult to navigate than others, and this is one of the reasons the YPCS services are so essential. Having someone to talk to and a safe place to be yourself supports self esteem, resiliency and the sense of being accepted for exactly who you are.

If you can help us to keep our free, confidential services open for the teenagers who need us, please get in touch at [email protected]. Every fundraiser and donation helps us continue our work with young people.

We would like to give a big YPCS thank you Adam and Amber of Higgsy's and to all their fantastic customers who have made donations!

Your generosity has allowed us to create some much needed resources for our Annabelle Davis Centre. We had originally planned to create feedback cards that parents, carers and young people can use. Thanks to how much was raised, we were also able to create breathing, grounding and mindfulness cards that young people will be able to take to support them between therapy and counselling sessions and in the future.

The change you drop in our yellow charity pot helps change a young person's life.

This week is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.

Organised and led by the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK, this week aims to raise public and professional awareness of maternal mental health, change attitudes and help people access information and support.

To learn more about the week and get involved, please visit https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/about-maternal-mental-health/maternal-mental-health-awareness-week/