Spotlight on Kooth: Your Gateway to Mental Health Support
This issue we're excited to spotlight Kooth, an invaluable resource for young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
What is Kooth?
Kooth is a free, online platform dedicated to supporting the mental health of young people. It provides a safe and welcoming space where individuals can explore their feelings anonymously and access a wealth of support resources. Through Kooth, children and young people aged 10-25 in Merton can connect with peers on moderated discussion forums and chat with mental health professionals via secure messaging.
As a BACP-accredited service, Kooth offers 24-hour access to self-help materials, goal-setting, and mood-tracking tools. The platform also features moderated forums for peer support and interactive messaging with qualified therapists. Users can book anonymous online counselling sessions with therapists who are available in the evenings and weekends—weekdays from 12pm to 10pm, and weekends from 6pm to 10pm.
Kooth is an excellent starting point for exploring feelings, seeking advice, and taking the first step towards recovery. If you feel you need specialised support, Kooth can help guide you to the appropriate resources.
Go to Kooth.com to find out more!
Merton Family Hubs Cost of Living event brings help and fun to local families
The Merton Family Hubs Cost of Living Event took place on Friday 23 August, at the Acacia Children’s Centre and Acacia Adventure Playground. The event aimed to raise awareness about the support available to families facing the rising cost of living, encouraging them to make use of the free help on offer.
Over 15 partners, including organisations offering legal, financial, health, and housing advice, set up stands to provide guidance to families and young people. The atmosphere was lively, with plenty of opportunities for families to get expert advice and information to help ease financial pressures.
One of the highlights of the day was the food boxes, which included recipes featuring affordable and diverse cuisine to inspire families to cook on a budget. There was also a big hit with children—the smoothie-making bicycles! The older children pedalled hard to blend their own smoothies, walking away with a tasty, healthy treat. Family Hubs staff were on hand to chat with families, guide them to the different partners, and help them collect free goodies and useful resources.
In true Family Hub spirit, the event ran alongside regular health visiting clinics at Acacia Centre and an open Family session at the Adventure Playground. Parents attending these activities were able to pop by the event and get valuable information to help with managing their household. Many families also took part in a raffle with prizes including tickets to the Polka Theatre, voucher for Wimbledon Water Sports and visits to Godstone Farm.
Under 18's Health and Wellbeing Network
The Under 18’s Health and Wellbeing Network represents the health and wellbeing priorities of young people who live, study or work in Merton.
The purpose of the Network is to:
- Provide a voice for young people in the community about health and wellbeing issues,
- Review the health and wellbeing priorities of young people in Merton and help shape services,
- Increase awareness amongst network members of health and wellbeing issues and the services available to them
Please share the U18’s Health and Wellbeing Network September Newsletter with the young people you work with!
Family hubs research - families survey (please share with your families!)
Survey closing soon: Share your views about family hubs – Ecorys evaluation
A research organisation called Ecorys UK is evaluating the Family Hubs Transformation Fund on behalf of the government. Ecorys UK would like to know what parents and carers using family hub services in Merton think of these services.
There is just one week left to share your views. Please click the link below to complete a short survey and say what you think by Wednesday 2 October 2024.
ICON Week 2024
ICON Week 2024 took place from 23 to 27 September. ICON week is dedicated to raising awareness about infant crying and how to manage it, supporting parents and carers, and preventing serious injuries, illnesses, and even fatalities caused by Abusive Head Trauma, often resulting from shaking a baby.
ICON is a program embraced by health and social care organizations across the UK,
providing essential information about infant crying, including coping strategies,
parental support, and stress reduction.
This year’s ICON Week focuses on sharing ideas and best practices. Friends and
relatives play a crucial role in supporting parents and carers during the challenging
times when a baby is crying. Explore the new Friends and Family leaflet and other
resources on the ICON website.
Introducing Healthier Together
Healthier Together is designed to support pregnant women and parents and carers of children in South West London. Young people can also use the website to find information on topics such as mental and sexual health.
Click the link below to find the Healthier Together promotional materials.
Family Hub Timetables
Visit the family hub website to find out what on at our family hub sites this Autumn!
New Start for Life flier available!
A new Start for Life A5 flier is now available. The flier has 7 QR codes, each one links to a different category on our Start for Life website. Download the leaflet from the link below, or email familyhubs@merton.gov.uk to request printed copies.
Healthy Start Scheme - virtual training session
On Friday 11 October (10.00 – 12.00) Merton Family Hub Partnership will be hosting a virtual training session on the ’Healthy Start Scheme’, an initiative designed to help low-income families with young children purchase food and milk. To book your place, please click on the following link: Healthy-Start-Scheme - 27473 (safeguardinginmerton.org.uk)
Relationship-based practice training
There are currently 14 places left on the relationship-based practice training (delivered as ‘Building trusting relationships’) taking place on Tuesday 15 October (09.00 - 13.00 at the Chaucer Centre, Canterbury Rd, Morden SM4 6PX. This event is offered by the Merton Family Hub Partnership as a half-day face to face training. To book you place, please click on the following link: Building-Trusting-Relationships - 26960 (safeguardinginmerton.org.uk)
Aims of the training
- Introduce the principles the principles of relationship-based practice and key skills around attachment, trauma informed practice, systemic and questioning approaches, and cultural genograms.
- Reflect on how these principles can be used in the context of work with children and families to build relationships and promote engagement.
- Refresh communication skills, including the use of language, its impact and effective responses to high emotion, conflict, and challenge.
- Build confidence in the practitioner role as part of a multiagency network around children and families to promote change and achieve best outcomes.
Promoting your service in Family Hubs!
Dear Partners,
We now have service leaflets in our Family Hubs, and to ensure we have the most up to date versions could we please ask that If you have updated any promotional material (especially with with Merton’s new visual identity) that you send it to Familyhub@merton.gov.uk.
|
