Harriet King

Wellbeing Matters, part of YMCA Norfolk, was established in 2021 as a vital youth mental health service with the aim of tackling the county’s mental health crisis among children and young people. 

In the last year alone, none of the 242 young people referred to the Wellbeing Matters service have required further referral to the Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS), of which costs the NHS an average of £2,338 per referral (Source: Children’s Commissioner briefing).

The reduction in referrals attributed to the Wellbeing Matters service has alleviated waiting times for NHS services across Norfolk, the county with the second highest spend per child for mental health in the country as of 2022 (Source: Children’s Commissioner briefing).

The range of therapeutic services offered have been praised by parents to have “truly made a difference” to their children, as the team continue to build relationships with schools and mental health providers across Norfolk. 

Our therapeutic staff approach the service with a holistic view, taking into account every aspect of a young person’s wellbeing; school, home, family relationships, friendships and beyond – to fully understand what it is that is impacting their mental wellbeing. 

Esther, project lead within YMCA Norfolk for Wellbeing Matters, commented on the success of the project: 

“I think the way in which we approach our delivery is one of the many reasons for the service’s success. We have worked in a person-centred, therapeutic way to engage our young people in a safe and empathic relationship which focuses on providing sessions where above all they feel comfortable to talk, whether it be outside on a positive activity, in school or at home.

“Being flexible in our approach means that we are allowing the young person to develop their sense of self and become aware of what they need, which is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of each young person and child we work with.”

A combination of the pandemic’s increased demand on all health services and cuts in government funding have left the largest disparity between waiting lists and the demand for mental health services in recent years (source: Local Government Association and the Children’s Commissioner).

As reported by the Local Government Association, 75% of young people experiencing a mental health problem are currently forced to wait so long that their condition worsens or are unable to access any services at all. 

Issy White, an NHS Specialist Community Public Health Nurse for South Norfolk, commented:

“It is no secret that the NHS is currently struggling beyond belief to meet the extreme level of need for mental health support, despite the best efforts of healthcare professionals. This need is due to an array of reasons, but most notably a lack of funding for mental health services.”

Issy believes that charities such as YMCA Norfolk help to bridge the gap between young people in crisis and GP wait lists, providing ‘an extremely valuable and responsible service.’

She added:

“Teams such as (YMCA Norfolk’s) Wellbeing Matters service are working tirelessly to support young people develop the skills and resilience they need to go on to reach their full potential in life. 

“I am personally so grateful that charities such as YMCA Norfolk exist to help fight the mental health crisis and to reassure young people that they do not have to suffer in silence.” 

The Wellbeing Matters service has hugely reduced a financial strain on the NHS, saving an estimated £565,796 so far this year through not having to refer a single young person to CAMHS after engaging with the charity’s therapeutic staff team.

By the end of March 2023, the service is set to support 500 young people in a mental health crisis, potentially doubling the vital relief supplied to CAMHS in Norfolk to a value of over £1 million in specialist referrals alone.

Mark Deveney of the South Norfolk and Broadland Councils, who was part of the Wellbeing Matters commissioning process, said:

“The (wellbeing matters) service is impressive in terms of their capacity to accept referrals, the speed of response and the adaptability of intervention to deliver a genuinely holistic service to young people tailored to their needs.

“Feedback from referring professionals in the Help Hub, schools and colleges and parents has been unfailingly positive. Children and young people have clearly benefited from engagement with the service and lives have been changed through the work undertaken. 

“I would have no hesitation in recommending this service to any prospective commissioner.” 

We’re looking to recruit two new directors to work alongside our exec team and CEO, enabling further growth across our housing, early years and communities provisions.

The positions include two new roles – Housing Director and Early Years and Communities Director, both presenting an opportunity to build on YMCA Norfolk’s strong foundations across its range of services, while meeting the needs of the young people and families we work with.

John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO, said: “These are areas of work are vital to our mission. As the level of need in Norfolk increases, we are seeking to increase the amount of support we can offer.
 
“It is an exciting time at YMCA Norfolk – we have significant opportunities ahead of us. We are looking for people who can bring their experience and passion to help us expand our Housing, Early Years and Communities team work. The successful applicants will join at a time as we start to create a new organisational strategy.
 
“If you a servant hearted individual, committed to your Christian faith and passionate about creating environments where young people can truly belong, contribute and thrive, then we would love to hear from you.”

Please click here for further information about the Director of Housing and here for further information about the Director of Early Years and Communities.

Jade Crowe, Senior Life Ready Coach for YMCA Norfolk, recently worked with a team of education professionals to write and publish research for the National Education Union.

The publication discusses alternate approaches to engaging young and adult learners in training and education, particularly those outside of mainstream education, using YMCA Norfolk’s Life Ready programme as a case study.

Life Ready is a project run by YMCA Norfolk across the charity’s housing services and youth provisions, with a focus on supporting participants on their journey towards independent living through learning valuable life skills.

As a training and education project, the young people involved in the programme have a diverse background, therefore the project has a very person-centred approach; ideal for evaluating for research purposes.

The programme is spilt into three smaller projects consisting of Life Ready Norwich, operating in the Norwich Housing Services; Life Ready Great Yarmouth, operating in YMCA Norfolk’s Great Yarmouth provisions, and Life Ready Gardening, a project focused on constructing the organisation’s housing site’s garden and educating participants on living a greener lifestyle and being more environmentally aware.

Courses and qualifications are tailored around participants individual aspirations, needs and career paths, and can be delivered both in-house and through external providers such as ASDAN.

In relation to the National Education Union research carried out, Life Ready was used to identify and evaluate new approaches to informal learning in light of the pandemic:

“If ever there was a time for doing things different it is now. Covid-19 is crying out for an engagement or re-engagement programme which should be assignment-based and focused on the learner rather than on set, weekly sessions.

It is a tailored learning resource, based on agreed, realistic targets that take account of the needs of each individual learner,” the report notes in its conclusion.

Download and read the full publication here.

YMCA Norfolk were presented with the Blue Plaque award on 20^th April given in recognition of their resilience throughout the Covid-19 crisis by Lord Dannatt on behalf of Her Majesty’s representative in Norfolk, The Lord Lieutenant, Lady Dannatt.

The receiving of the award ties in with the charity’s anniversary, celebrating the opening of their Aylsham Road community hub, 1 year ago, which has welcomed over 16,000 customers from the local community since opening its doors in April 2021.

Lord Dannatt, Deputy Lieutenant and YMCA Norfolk President, presented the youth charity with their Blue Plaque award along with Deputy Lieutenant, The Reverend Matthew Hutton. 

“There has been a tremendous amount of coming together and helping others over the last two years across Norfolk. The trustees, staff and volunteers of YMCA Norfolk have pulled together to deliver and improve their services through very difficult circumstances.

“Post-pandemic, it is right to remember just how communities worked together during these challenging times, which is why we are presenting YMCA Norfolk with the Blue Plaque Award on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen and her Norfolk representative, the Lord Lieutenant, Lady Dannatt,” he said.

He spoke of how he was excited to present the award at the YMCA Norfolk Aylsham Road hub, and how pleased he was to see it being actively used to benefit the local community.

In the last year the community centre has hosted a range of fundraising events, parent and baby wellbeing groups, youth clubs, training courses as well as catering functions and children’s parties.

Williams’ Kitchen Café and Explorers Soft Play has proved to be a hit among the local community.  Due to its popularity, the organisation continues to expand its team of staff members as it looks to recruit nursery nurses, a café chef, as well as positions across the charity’s frontline delivery.

John Lee, YMCA Norfolk CEO, said:

“It was our staff’s dedication and willingness to work in an arena with unknown risks, where the rules were constantly changing and where they had to enforce the rules which enabled our services to run as well as they did.

“The biggest testimony is that in our last residents survey 93% of them said they felt safe whilst living with us.  “As we look forward to the future, it is an extremely exciting time for YMCA Norfolk as we increase the range of services we offer while investing in new opportunities – such as the community hub – to generate income to fund our vital frontline work supporting vulnerable young people and families in Norfolk.”

Receiving a number of five star reviews, the café and soft play has been praised by customers as a “clean and fresh venue” for children’s parties, a “convenient set up on Aylsham road with friendly staff” and a “wonderful space for children to play, good outdoor space with delicious baked goods.”

Mr. Lee added: “The success of our new centre highlights its need in the Norwich area, as well as the importance of offering an affordable, family-friendly environment for the local community to enjoy.”

The centre also features an Ofsted-registered nursery, Muddy Puddles, which is continuously welcoming new babies and pre-schoolers to its exciting new childcare facilities. Due to demand, the nursery currently has a waitlist and over 90 children enrolled and are therefore seeking level 2 and 3 qualified nursery nurses to join its experienced team.

In addition to recruiting nursery nurses for Muddy Puddles, YMCA Norfolk are also currently looking to welcome two new trustees to their board, to offer further experience and strategic direction to the executive team and existing team of passionate trustees.

For further information on vacancies currently available with YMCA Norfolk, based at the community hub and across their county-wide operations, please visit: www.ymcanorfolk.org/working-for-us or email our HR team on careers@ymcanorfolk.org