Coronavirus: ‘Our mental health goes downhill in situations like this’
The coronavirus pandemic has left many young people across London uncertain about their futures.
But the Croydon-based charity, Big Kid Foundation, has tried to combat this by keeping in close contact with teenagers throughout lockdown.
Now the restrictions are easing, the foundation aims to support the young people they work with to achieve the best that they can and be able to take control of their lives.
A hair salon and barbers in Gloucester has trained all its staff to recognise when clients may have problems with mental health.The Pride Salon is reopening after training from the Lions Barber Collective charity and NHS funding.
It is hoped they can help people who might not normally seek support.
Tom Chapman, who started the charity, said people opened up to them because of the level of trust and intimacy between hairdressers and their clients.
The training helps staff recognise,talk and listen out for symptoms of depression.
Care given to a teenager by the first mental health trust to go into special measures has “been a nightmare”, that is how it’s been described by the mother of a 15-year-old daughter; who tried to take her own life during the lockdown.
She said the only plan was “to take her to the hospital” and that was “not good enough, I felt a big responsibility to keep her safe. Where is the support for families? There’s no other supportI’m just trying to keep her alive.”
