A young people鈥檚 counselling charity is celebrating winning an award for the innovative way it鈥檚 having an impact on its local community.
Off The Record Youth Counselling, a 香港六合彩精准资料-accredited service in South London, was selected from more than 370 organisations across the UK as one of 10 winners of the 2019 GSK IMPACT Awards.
The service has been running for 25 years and provides free, professional face-to-face counselling and support to young people in Croydon, Sutton and Merton.
It has adapted to changes in young people鈥檚 lives by staff getting out of the therapy room and into the places young people are meeting up.
This has included its staff attending spoken word sessions and
Assistant Director Geoff Jones said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fantastic to get this recognition for the way we work.
鈥淚n the old days, young people would self-refer, they鈥檇 come here and have counselling. But we understand that now we need to go out to young people and be available in a different way. If we just sit in the therapy room, young people aren鈥檛 going to turn up. That鈥檚 been the challenge.
鈥淲e鈥檝e visited spoken word and poetry sessions. This is where young people are going to express themselves and talk about their emotions. We鈥檝e been there as a link through to the counselling.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been going to the places young people are and putting counselling on the menu, alongside spoken word, kickboxing and other activities. We鈥檝e had a great reception.鈥�
The team at Off The Record Counselling
Last year Off the Record received more than 1,200 referrals and offered more than 7,000 sessions.
It has also developed an online platform to help young people who aren鈥檛 comfortable with speaking to someone directly or need faster access.
This had 261 new registrations last year and delivered nearly 1,000 sessions.
The charity offers different services in response to the different needs across the three boroughs it serves.
In Croydon it works with the borough鈥檚 gangs team, professionals and community groups听to support young people following a violent or sudden death.
In Sutton, it works with partners to offer targeted support around issues such as exam stress.
In Merton, it has just been awarded a new health contract to expand its services. It supports young carers, refugees and asylum seekers and has specific programmes to tackle the challenges of BAME communities in accessing mental health support.听
The that recognise and reward small and medium sized charities that are doing excellent work to improve people鈥檚 health and wellbeing in communities across the UK.
Winners receive 拢30,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by The King鈥檚 Fund.
Lisa Weaks, Head of Third Sector at The King鈥檚 Fund, said:听鈥淥ff the Record has found new and innovative ways to connect with young people and provide urgently-needed support. By listening to young people, working with community groups and identifying the barriers that might stop young people from getting mental health care, Off the Record has been able to help children and young people to prevent crises.鈥�
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