Right Here Brighton and Hove is a partnership between YMCA DownsLink Group and Mind in Brighton and Hove, working alongside Brighton and Hove City Council’s Children’s Services and the NHS.

We aim to take a new look at wellbeing. 

The work our project does could shape the future of services. Our work focuses on  preventing mental health issues from occurring, rather than intervening when they already have. This groundbreaking approach is being consistently reviewed and researched as it is carried out, to prove that our methods are working, and to give us evidence that will help us shape the services of the future. We focus on resilience and wellbeing to prevent mental health issues from developing in 13-25 year olds.

Resilience is key.

Resilience is the foundation on which mental health stands. If you create strong foundations, you’ll be able to face anything. Life can be a difficult process – even the most fortunate of us will face hardships, such as bereavement, financial problems, stress, bullying etc. With resilience, you’ll have the strength to ‘bounce back’ from such hardships where others struggle to go on. This is why building resilience in young people and their communities is key to our work.

Tackling stigma.

Stigma towards mental health is one of the greatest problems we currently face for people’s wellbeing. The media and our culture often paints a very negative picture of mental health, meaning that young people are often afraid to ask for help or to admit that they experience mental health issues. We hope to bring a new discussion of mental health to the forefront – one that is positive, engaging, and ensures that people look at mental health in the same way that they look at physical health.

Young people will lead us.

When it comes to young people’s mental health, there’s one group of people who know more about it than anyone else – young people. That’s why we empower young people and let them show us what needs to change. We are committed to participation. We ask young people what needs to change, and how to make those changes. We have a number of volunteer teams available too, for those who want to become more heavily involved with the project – our volunteers are powerful advocates for our message.

The people we work with.

We work with 13-25 year olds in Brighton and Hove, with some resources that are applicable to the entire country. Specifically we target 13 groups which are seen as more at risk of developing mental health issues:

• NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training)
• Young parents
• Young carers
• Those that have been bullied (or bully others)
• Young people who feel isolated
• Homeless/separated from families
• Those who misuse substances
• LGBTU (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or Unsure) young people
• Young people with physical and/or learning disabilities
• Young offenders
• Young people in, or leaving care
• Asylum seekers and Refugees
• Black and Minority Ethnic young people

Our importance now more than ever.

We are living in times where we can see certain issues that young people are facing, whilst we cannot be certain about the help they will receive.

Across the country, the last few decades have seen a rise in depression and anxiety among teenagers and it is estimated that 1 in 12 young people deliberately self-harm – behaviour symptomatic of mental distress. Services are currently only designed to treat those in crisis, and are always in high demand by young people needing treatment for mental health problems.

Meanwhile, the global recession and the austerity measures that we face in the UK mean less and less money is spent on helping those with mental health issues, whilst youth unemployment is at a record high.

Right Here Brighton and Hove builds a fresh approach to mental health, backed up by evidence and research, which aims to build resilient communities of young people who may not need to access mental health services in the future, reducing overall strain on the NHS.