A CALL TO COMMUNITY
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:30
- Written by Marian Moore
Marian @ Krysan
THE EMOTIONAL WELLBEING CONSULTANCY
Planting Golden Seeds in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, and Durham
__________________________
"I feel strongly that young people and parents need to know that they can ask for help. Just as with physical health, we need to act early to provide support when a child is faced with emotional difficulties."
- The Duchess of Cambridge
Children Need Our Help, says Kate
(A CALL TO COMMUNITY)
- Thursday, 26 March 2015
- Dear Friends
- Children's Health
I opened the morning paper and there it was, a compelling banner headline: 'Children need our help, says Kate'. But, before pursuing the urgent topic of Children's Emotional Health, it is relevant to revisit the aim of small organisations like mine, small businesses who are engaged in helping people blossom in communities.
And please - whilst reading - do bear in mind the wise observation by a world-renowned anthropologist: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
So, this is the plan:
- Helping People Blossom in Communities
- NHS England
- HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
- The Challenge
1.
HELPING PEOPLE BLOSSOM in communities.
I would ask you (again) to kindly note that my new tagline is “helping people blossom in communities." For me, the word 'blossom' calls up images of beauty, growth, and life; the red rose being a recognized symbol of hope for people around the world. Combining hope and support is what I am all about at home and abroad.
I established my small business and website seven years back and have worked passionately to extend its reach to peoples across the entire world - every race; every country; every continent. My wellbeing mission is to spread happiness and joy and to provide the best possible service to those who drop by.
My own experience of mental health challenges spans many years, and has guided me to a belief that each individual is an expert in his/her own experience and knows intuitively who and what is going to make a difference in his/her own life. Trust is of the essence. My heartfelt wish is that people become as independent as possible in activities of daily living (as I have), but as interdependent as possible in human relationships (as I have).
My small business is about people working together, and thereby making a significant collective difference towards the betterment of society. Now a community elder, I bring unique experiences/solutions which are willingly shared with you and the agencies I support. No charge.
Helping people blossom in communities.
2.
NHS ENGLAND acts for all of us.
Now, for the children ...
Yesterday, I received an e-mail communication from NHS England, a regular occurrence available to all. In essence, the quotation below describes the direction of flow over the next five years of our beloved NHS (National Health Service), this in respect to aspects of care and support that must concern us all: in particular the care and support of children and young people suffering from serious mental distress. This, then, is just a smidgen of the afore-mentioned e-mail re a new task force:
Dr Geraldine Strathdee, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for mental health, said:
"This is a big moment for mental health. We can tackle major challenges which include maximizing personalized, least restrictive home care, improving crisis care, reducing the 20 years premature mortality and improving transition from children’s to adult services.”
New money for NHS mental health services has been committed from 2015/15 for the next 5 years.
- Local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups have been asked to ensure real terms increases in their investment in mental health services next year.
- £150m will be invested in improving eating disorders service for children and young people over the next five years.
- £120m was committed to mental health services and has been split a variety of ways including spend on new waiting times and access standards for early intervention in psychosis, IAPT and mental health liaison in acute hospitals.
- The March 2015 Budget announced an additional £250m per year for the next 5 years: £15m will go to improve perinatal mental health services, and £235m to improve access for children and young people to mental health services.
The new taskforce will support the use of this money to be sure it starts to have a positive impact on people’s lives quickly. Please follow the above link for more information.
NHS England
3.
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE speaks out.
This evening, the children's charity - Place2B - wrote in its email:
"There is no doubt that we have seen a fundamental shift in the way that children’s mental health is viewed. It is now firmly on the agenda of politicians, media and the general public."
This followed on from the announcement in The Times newspaper this morning that HRH the Duchess of Cambridge is urging parents, teachers and health professionals to give 'child mental health' the attention and focus it deserves. The article speaks of the great strides that have been made in tackling the stigma around adult mental health and hoped that the same would now happen with children's psychological illnesses.
"I have been heartened to see that so much progress has been made to ending the taboo of adults openly treating mental well-being as the health issue it is," she said in a message to The Times. "I believe that our generation of parents, carers, teachers, and health workers now have the chance to give the mental health of our children the focus it deserves."
The duchess urged children and their parents not to be afraid to seek help if they think they need it, because acting early would yield the best results. She said, "I feel strongly that young people and parents need to know that they can ask for help. Just as with physical health, we need to act early to provide support when a child is faced with emotional difficulties."
She suggested in her message that she would be devoting more time and effort to the cause of child mental health when she returns to her public duties later in the year. "This is a discussion that William and I hope to play a part in during the months and years to come. We welcome all work to highlight this important issue for the benefit of all our young people," she said.
The duchess calls for an end to the stigma of mental illness, this after The Times launched its campaign, Time to Mind. The campaign is now in its third week and already more than 20,000 people have read the manifesto written by Tanya Byron, the clinical psychologist. Significantly, it calls for greater investment in child mental health services and in early intervention, in particular.
Finally, the duchess is patron of the charity Place2Be, this being one of the first roles she took up after her marriage. The charity provides counselling and psychological help for children in 235 of the nation's schools to help them cope with issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown, neglect and trauma. Children need our help - no doubt about that.
The Duchess of Cambridge.
4.
THE CHALLENGE ...
- In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge we faced was slavery.
- In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism.
- In the twenty-first century, it is the struggle for equality for women and their daughters around the world.
In rounding things off, I would remind readers of research into the psychological effects of austerity policies. That such policies affect men, women, and children goes without saying. The key conclusions [of the briefing paper] are that austerity policies have damaging psychological costs. Mental health problems are being created in the present and further problems are being stored for the future. Five 'Austerity Ailments' have been identified. These are specific ways in which austerity policies impact on mental health. They are through:
- Humiliation and shame
- Fear and distrust
- Instability and insecurity
- Isolation and loneliness
- Being trapped and powerless.
And so today, I gladly accepted a kind invitation from a personal friend to visit WHIST (Women's Health in South Tyneside) as it confidently explores new horizons in a changing and challenging world. Here, I discovered, for myself, a vibrant award-winning organisation working in the heart of the community and making a totally unique contribution to the lives of countless local women.
Despite all the many peaks and troughs of the British economy, WHIST - a registered charity and company limited by guarantee - has to be commended for making it through for nearly thirty years. I am well-impressed by the energy of the strong female role-models (past and present), as well as the determination and single-mindedness of all concerned.
It is my intention, Dear Friends, to linger a while on the important topic of Women's Emotional Wellbeing in my next blog. In preparation see AUSTERITY BITES on the side menu.
Join me next time at WHIST: Working for Women's Wellbeing.
The Challenge.
- Marian Moore, BA/BSc, Cert.Ed
- Psychiatric Survivor
- Life-long Learner
ENDS
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