Northampton charity ‘extremely proud’ of its young people for acting on important mental health beliefs
A Northampton charity is “very proud” of its young people, who are working hard to act on their important beliefs around mental health and wellbeing.
The Lowdown, in Kingswell Street, provides free and confidential support services to those aged 11 to 25 across the county – and has done for more than three decades.
They believe no young person should experience mental health issues alone and their services include counselling, wellbeing, youth groups, support for members of the LGBTQ+ community, and sexual health advice.
An important part of their work is the Youth Advisory Board – a group for 11 to 25 year olds to get together and voice their perspectives and opinions on a range of mental health related topics.
Not only do they provide feedback on the services offered at The Lowdown, to better the support young people receive, but they express what they want to get involved in and develop in the wider mental health community.
This not only has a positive and profound impact on the county, but the personal development of these young people.
Rebecca Kings has been the participation and wellbeing coordinator at The Lowdown since October last year, and she oversees five services including the Youth Advisory Board.
The young people are currently delivering projects, and the 18 to 25 year olds are hosting a wellbeing event at Delapre Abbey on July 20.
This ambitious project will bring different organisations and services together to promote the support on offer across the county, spanning mental health, wellbeing, fitness and nutrition.
The shared ethos, between The Lowdown and the young people, is the importance of the community knowing about services before they need to utilise them.
The 11 to 17 year olds are soon to run a social media campaign in the coming months, with a focus on mental health discrimination. This will address the stigma around mental health, debunk the many myths, and signpost people to where they can get support.
“I’m extremely proud and we’re so incredibly lucky to have our Youth Advisory Board,” said Rebecca. “We’re thankful for the work they do for us and others.”
She is touched to see them put their heads together to work out what will benefit the community most, and how this has helped them flourish into more confident individuals.