The National Lottery Community Fund is helping young people stay ‘Calm and Connected'.
A successful application to the National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in UK has resulted in an amazing award for £99,771 enabling the delivery of our 'Calm and Connected' project. Over the next two years, the project will support children across Liverpool and Sefton, whose mental health has been affected by the pandemic.
The core activity of the project will be delivered through a series of youth-led online meeting ‘hubs’ of six-weeks in length. Hubs will be facilitated by specialised mental health workers who will create a collaborative safe space where participants can work with their peers to explore common experiences, feel supported to normalise their anxieties and develop new coping tools and mechanisms. After taking part in the online hubs, children and young people will be given the opportunity to continue to connect with their peers in follow up drop-in sessions. These sessions will provide a space where they can reflect on their own learning and personal development over an extended period of time.
The project will also empower participants to access wider youth engagement opportunities in their local areas, supporting their transition back into their local communities. The award will allow Alder Hey Children's Hospital to reach children and young people who need support with their mental health as we continue to navigate the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
This project will help children and young people who are currently accessing services through CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), or who are on CAMHS waiting lists for an initial assessment. They will also accept referrals from across the local area through the Liverpool and Sefton CAMHS partnerships. The project is scheduled to begin early in 2022.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.
Our CEO Fiona Ashcroft said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has sadly had a devastating impact on our children and young people. Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that Alder Hey can offer help and support to children and young people during this time of continued uncertainty. ‘Calm and Connected’ will provide a unique COVID-19 transition offer that is not currently available from any other organisation in our region, so it is really exiting that we are able to offer this innovative project to children and young people across Liverpool and Sefton.”
During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK, and we're so thankful for the funding we have received to get this project started.
About the Author
Trusts and Foundations Team
The Trusts and Foundations Team is made up of our remarkable fundraisers who work with trusts and foundations to support the work that Alder Hey does with children and young people.