Children’s Mental Health Resources

Substance Misuse:

• Wirral Youth Matters | Youth Services – The Youth Matters team provides early help through a wide range of targeted youth support and play activities to meet the needs and aspirations of Wirral children aged 6-19 years
• Response | FRANK (talktofrank.com) – Service for young people aged 13-19 years old. We offer a wide range of support, covering drugs and alcohol, mental health, homelessness and / or threatened homelessness
• Alateen | Al-Anon UK – Alateen is a service that sets up meetings for teenage relatives and friends of alcoholics. Alateen is part of Al-Anon.
• Nacoa: Helping everyone affected by their parent’s drinking – Nacoa – Offer information, advice and support for children effected by alcoholism they also have a free helpline

BAME:

• Home – Wirral Multicultural Organisation (wmo.org.uk) – Offer support to more vulnerable members of the local BAME community by providing language support, advocacy, social support and activities, assistance to access primary care services and including advice and education services.
• Wirral Change – Supporting Disadvantaged, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities in Wirral – Wirral Change has a history of delivering services to Wirral’s disadvantaged, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities – community groups, employment support, health and wellbeing support, translation and interpreting, financial support and immigration support.

Bereavement:

• Home – Cruse Bereavement Support – Hope Again – Is a safe place where you can learn from other young people, how to cope with grief, and feel less alone. Here you will find information about our services, a listening ear from other young people and advice for any young person dealing with the loss of a loved one. Hope Again provides somewhere to turn to when someone dies.
• Child Bereavement UK – Child Bereavement UK helps children, parents and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. We support children and young people up to the age of 25 who are facing bereavement, and anyone impacted by the death of a child of any age.
• HOME – Lets Talk About Loss – They run meet ups across the UK for young people aged 18-35, projects and campaigns encouraging everyone to talk about grief, and a blog which talks through the taboos.
• Home SUPPORTING BEREAVED CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE – Grief Encounter – They offer online counselling, they have Grief Guides that may help you, or those around you, navigate your grief, covering all kinds of subjects that often hard to comprehend at difficult times and the grieftalk helpline.
• Winston’s Wish – giving hope to grieving children (winstonswish.org) – Winston’s Wish provides emotional and practical bereavement support to children and young people up to the age of 25, their families and those who care for them. You can call or email our Freephone Helpline team for immediate advice also have helpful information and resources on their website.
• Bereavement Counselling and Support | The Dove Service – They provide bereavement and loss counselling to children and young people.

Domestic Violence:

• Domestic Abuse Team – Involve Northwest
• The Leapfrog Programme supports children aged 5 – 10 years old and their mums who have experienced domestic abuse. A mum’s programme and a separate children’s programme run alongside each other for 10 weeks, enabling a safe environment for discussion, healing and moving on.
• Got The Tee Shirt – We provide 1-2-1 mentor support with someone who has walked in your shoes. GTTS is a group of volunteers who have recovered from an abusive relationship and are now ready to share their experiences to help others move forward. All our volunteers are DBS enhanced and have received Accredited Peer Mentoring training. They also receive domestic abuse and safeguarding training as well as regular supervision.
• RASA Merseyside – Here for anyone who has been sexually abused or raped – The sunflowers project works with children and young people who have been directly or indirectly impacted by sexual abuse. Our service works with children and young people between the ages of 6-18 years. However, when referrals for younger children are made, at times it may be deemed more appropriate to complete work with the main caregiver, rather than the child. They offer counselling and advocacy throughout the Criminal Justice Process.

Mental Health

• https://www.youngminds.org.uk/ – Information surrounding young people’s mental health
• Childline | Childline – Has a helpline, online resources and 1-2-1 online counselling chat
• https://www.kooth.com/ – online mental wellbeing community for young people
• https://www.opendoorcharity.com/ – Have designed CBT type courses – although primarily for young adults they do have programmes for younger people
• https://giveusashout.org/get-help/how-shout-works/– Free text service to support young people struggling to cope
• https://www.teenagehelpline.org.uk/ – Can talk to someone or look around website for information on mental health
• https://www.oomoo-wirral.co.uk/ – oomoo is a new offer for young people (aged 12-18) on Wirral. We are here to get you in the best frame of mind you can be in and to help you face life’s ups and downs. We’ll offer free weekly activities like boxing, yoga and art workshops, and we have free mental health support available too
• https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/blueice/ – An app to help young people manage their emotions and to reduce urges to self-harm. It includes a mood diary, toolbox of evidence based techniques to reduce distress and automatic routing to emergency numbers if urges to harm continue.
• Ditch the Label – Youth Charity | Mental Health, Anti-Bullying, & Relationships – Help young people overcome the issues that affect them the most. Whether that’s bullying, mental health, relationships, identity or the tough stuff in-between, we’re here. We provide digital safe spaces, direct support, education, campaigns and world-class research.
• Home | Resilient (NW) CIC (resilientnw.org) – Support children and young people aged 11-25 to build everyday resilience and to help them grow and learn skills for a happy and successful future.
• Children’s Services – Women’s Enterprising Breakthrough – Charity (webmerseyside.org) – Run young women and boys groups including arts and crafts like jewellery making and painting, make up and beauty classes, games, football and courses like street dance, self-defence and martial arts. They also offer a listening and counselling service.
• Home – Tomorrow’s Women Wirral (tomorrowswomen.org.uk) – Run weekly sessions for young women between 14 and 17 – from 18 young people are able to access other aspects of the service
• The Hive Youth Zone – Wirral Youth Zone, named by young people as ‘The Hive’, is a purpose-built facility for the borough’s young people aged 8 -19
• Wirral Missing From Home Service – Catch22 (catch-22.org.uk) Catch22 provide the missing from home and care, and Child Sexual Exploitation service for young people in Wirral. The service runs a dedicated helpline 0808 168 9698 and provides support to young people who have run away or need advice as well as family and friends who are concerned about runaways
• Creative Youth Development – Home | Facebook – Creative Youth Development provides participatory arts for young people across Wirral promoting independence, positive self-esteem, and confidence. They run life skills projects which help young people to build confidence, self-esteem and aim to improve mental health and wellbeing and have an LGBT+ group. They work with young people aged 12-19, and up to 25 for those with disabilities. They also have a junior offer to for young people aged 7-11.
• Home MyMind – Cheshire Wirral Partnership website for young people that offers self-help, crisis helplines and links to services that may offer support.
• Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org) – HOPELINEUK is a confidential support and advice service for: Children and Young People under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide.
• Self Injury Support (rit.org.uk) – Offer a telephone or digital support service for women and girls affected by self-injury, trauma and abuse and develop up-to-date, reliable and free information and self-help tools for anyone to use
• OCD Youth – For and by young people with OCD | Home – OCD Youth aims to increase awareness and access to support for anyone under 25 affected by OCD. OCD Youth is run *by* young people with OCD, *for* young people with OCD. They organise trips/outings, run online meet-ups, manage a youth website and social media channels, write articles and awareness resources, produce videos and media.
• Hullo — Free Casual Conversation – Support those who feel isolated, need to unwind or get some guidance, or if you’d just like to chat with someone new. They are not a counselling service but work in partnership with other charities and can refer you to them if you’re in need of specialist help and advice.
• The Mix – Essential support for under 25s – They help you take on any challenge you’re facing – from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. Can be spoken to via online community, social media, through their free, confidential helpline or our counselling service.
• https://www.selfharm.co.uk – FREE ONLINE SELF-HARM SUPPORT FOR 14-19’S
• Transitions UK­ – Transitions UK supports vulnerable young people aged 14 – 25 years who are struggling with personal disadvantage such as: learning disabilities and special needs; those with emotional and mental health issues; those leaving care; and those at risk of offending or criminal exploitation.
• zillowirral – Offer self-help and links to services that may offer support.
• Wirral HSIS | Action For Children – based in Wirral schools and can be accessed via school referral
• Equine Facilitated Learning | Hooves For Healing | England – Equine Assisted learning is an alternative coaching tool used with gentle guidance to create a bond between pony and human, applied in the correct environment to encourage and promote emotional growth, personal learning and thinking skills. Teamwork is encouraged as pony, client and support practitioner work closely with the help of a person-centred learning program to enhance self-discovery, self-expression. Some service users like the repartition during their sessions, others like to be creative, try new things, explore and push their boundaries.

Bullying

• https://www.bullybusters.org.uk/young_people/ – Bully Busters is a Merseyside based Anti Bullying Project. You can phone with a bullying issue and we can give you some helpful tips so you can try and stop the bullying from happening. If you would like, we can contact the organisation where the bullying is happening and let them know what is going on so they can put a stop to it. We could even make arrangements to visit the organisation and teach others how harmful Bullying can be if not stopped
• Bullying advice | Bullying UK – Provide useful resources, confidential helpline, and online chat services
• Childline | Childline – Has a helpline, online resources and 1-2-1 online counselling chat
• Ditch the Label – Youth Charity | Mental Health, Anti-Bullying, & Relationships – Help young people overcome the issues that affect them the most. Whether that’s bullying, mental health, relationships, identity or the tough stuff in-between, we’re here. We provide digital safe spaces, direct support, education, campaigns and world-class research.

Children and parenting

• Home – Koala North West (koalanw.co.uk) – Koala North West exists to provide children and their families with tailored practical and emotional support that improves wellbeing, reduces isolation and supports both children and care-givers to thrive.
• Foundation Years Trust – Provide support to parents and children via social media and interactive groups
• Bee Wirral – Provide support to parents and children via social media and interactive groups
• Welcome – Ferries Family Groups – Support families across Wirral struggling to cope with the stresses of life to feel supported and empowered in order to improve family life and move towards a more positive future
• Wirral Unplugged CIC – Fairy Troll Post and Screen Free Sundays – Trying to promote less time spent on electronic devices, send out arts and craft boxes to be done as a family

Young Carers

• Home – YoungSibs – Support for siblings of those with SEND and disabilities via resources on the website and sibling advisors
• Action With Young Carers Wirral | Barnardo’s (barnardos.org.uk) – Supporting children and young people who care for and look after family members affected by health issues, disability or substance misuse. This is done via outings and activities for young carers, advice and emotional support through counselling sessions, help the family get support from social services, liaise with schools and run drop-in centres
• Wired – Wirral Information Resource for Equality & Diversity – To promote the equality, dignity and independence of disadvantaged children, young people and families and keep them safe from harm. To support children and young people to be ready for school, work and adulthood