野狼社区

Greater 野狼社区鈥檚 #BeeWell programme has entered a pioneering funding partnership with BBC Children in Need鈥檚 A Million & Me programme to champion youth voices and empower young people to make their wellbeing everybody鈥檚 business.

The programme supports innovative initiatives that can make a real difference to the emotional wellbeing of children, before emerging challenges require clinical intervention.

The new three-year funding award will further support young people to play a leading role in the response to the #BeeWell mental health and wellbeing survey鈥� the largest of its kind in the country.

Young people will receive training in peer support and social prescribing, as well as support to run mental health campaigns in their schools. They will also have access to grant pots to commission activities that support mental health and wellbeing in their local area and give young people access to the arts, physical activity and green spaces.  

The innovative social prescribing pilot will be delivered in collaboration with the Greater 野狼社区 Health and Social Care Partnership and trialled in 5 communities across the city region.

The BBC Children in Need grant will also fund a long-term evaluation of the programme to draw out key insights and share learning from the rollout of #BeeWell.

Finally, a new dedicated role will support creative, youth-led partnerships in Greater 野狼社区 communities, working in particular with young people who are often excluded from the conversation around mental health and wellbeing.

#BeeWell is a 拢2m collaboration between the University of 野狼社区, the Greater 野狼社区 Combined Authority and the Anna Freud Centre. The programme measures young people鈥檚 wellbeing on an annual basis and aims to bring about positive change in Greater 野狼社区鈥檚 communities as a result.

In the first survey window, #BeeWell heard the voices of almost 40,000 young people in Year 8 and 10 across Greater 野狼社区. Co-created by young people, #BeeWell has brought together a coalition of actors committed to acting on the findings and celebrating young people鈥檚 wellbeing.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater 野狼社区, said: "I am so pleased to see #BeeWell go from strength to strength. If we want to set up young people to succeed then we need to understand how they feel about their prospects in our city-region. #BeeWell is all about providing us with that insight and amplifying young people鈥檚 voices, so they can tell us what matters to them."

Paddy Sloan, Director of BBC Children in Need's A Million & Me programme, commented: "#BeeWell is an exciting action research project, sharing our ambition to increase the number of children experiencing good mental health. This award embodies the objectives of A Million & Me, and is an ambitious and innovative initiative that will lead to meaningful action across Greater 野狼社区, providing learning about positive youth-led and community-led change for children that will apply across the UK, at a time when it is most needed."

Callum, a #BeeWell Youth Advisor, said 鈥淎s a young person who struggled with supporting their mental health myself, the newest #BeeWell pilot is a tremendous step in the right direction. Most funding for mental healthcare goes towards adults - it attempts to deal with the issues after they appear. Programs like this focus on preventing these problems before they become all-consuming. With youth representation at the heart of #BeeWell鈥檚 projects, I鈥檓 excited to say that young people will finally have a say in their own wellbeing, and it鈥檒l most certainly be for the better."

David Gregson, Chair of the #BeeWell Advisory Board, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to be entering this exciting partnership with BBC Children in Need鈥檚 fantastic A Million & Me programme. By listening to the voices of all young people wherever they are, we intend to make their wellbeing everyone鈥檚 business. We look forward to working with A Million & Me to do just that.鈥�