Young Start funding helps bright young minds across Scotland to thrive

Projects working to improve the confidence and wellbeing of young people across Scotland are today (WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY) sharing in £1,271,922 of Young Start funding this Children’s Mental Health Week.

The funding, which comes from dormant account cash and is delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund, is used to support thousands of children and young people annually all over Scotland, many of whom face mental health and wellbeing issues. See a full list of projects

Founded in 2005, Lochaber Hope supports young people facing crisis periods in their lives. In recent years the charity has concentrated its efforts on a number of peer support projects and activity groups which focus on the well-being and improvement of young people’s mental health and from this the Bright Minds Project was born.

Bright Minds is a local youth initiative, created for young people and guided by a youth advisory board. The project offers events and training opportunities, as well as campaigning for changes in mental health culture and advocating for better support systems for young people.

An award of £54,220 means they can help more young people like 24-year-old Shaun Wallace from Lochaber.

Shaun previously worked with the charity as a project assistant but left to go to college and study to be a veterinary care assistant. When he was going through a difficult time, Lochaber Hope offered him seven free counselling sessions.

Shaun explained: “I’ve always struggled with my mental health, all the way through high school I was dealing with anxiety, depression and bi-polar disorder. “This would, at times lead to suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self- harm and did result in an incident where I had to be taken to hospital. Thankfully I decided to seek out support and this was the beginning of me getting better and going to counselling sessions provided by Lochaber Hope. I owe so much to Lochaber hope and don’t know where I would be today, if it wasn’t for them.

“I loved giving something back by helping at events and when the chance to get involved with the Bright Minds project came up, I was more than happy to. I might be the oldest in the group, but we all have big ambitions and I’m able to offer support and advice to the younger members of the group.

“We’re only small but we’re making a big impact. Ideally, I would love a lot more people to get involved and experience the huge changes in their lives that I have.”

Alyson Smith, Founder Manager, Lochaber Hope said: “Young Start has been a very special fund for Lochaber Hope.

“We can see how young people are better managing their mental health by building resilience and confidence, and we look forward to the events and activities they have organised that will be taking place over the coming months.”

Another organisation nurturing young people’s talent and wellbeing is  Toonspeak Young People’s Theatre. The north Glasgow based charity receives £100,000 to run its PROGRESS: Empowering Young People for Creative Careers project which provides a range of entry points and routes for training and employment for young people to enter the creative industries.

Jennifer Belle Baird, 25, from Glasgow, is a published writer but would never have dreamed of speaking in public before she joined Toonspeak three years ago

Jennifer said: “I had gone through school living with anxiety and was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder at 14. Being part of the project I was able to get feedback in a supportive way, without criticism. It was so good for my self-confidence and helped rid me of imposter syndrome.

“There’s no pressure to perform because it’s not all about performance, they value all areas of creativity here. Being a writer can be so isolating and now I actually enjoy performing too. I’m a member of the Toonspeak performance collective, the Young Company and have even written a play for The Merchant City Festival.

“I now view myself as a working artist and hope to work in a theatre. I often think how lucky the younger people here are to have Toonspeak at their age, Hopefully I can continue being part of the organisation and my work can uplift younger people.”

Chi Nguyen, Funding Officer, Toonspeak Young People's Theatre said: "We’re incredibly grateful for the support from Young Start. This funding allows us to create life-changing opportunities for young people to develop skills, confidence, and networks in the creative industries. Already, PROGRESS is helping them take big steps toward their future careers, and we’re excited to see the continued impact this will have."

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “We are so pleased to announce our latest Young Start funding, which helps enable organisations to directly support the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

“Shaun and Jennifer’s stories are two examples of the many young people who’ve benefitted from Young Start funded projects and we are always keen to support more ideas. If your group has a project that could improve the lives of young people in Scotland, then we’d love to hear from you.”

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk