As young people we know that growing up can be stressful and we are under a lot of pressure from things like exams, schools, family and friendships. So when Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and Cardiff Youth Council asked us if we would like to get involved in a new project around this topic we had to, especially as it had been raised by young people in the Vale before.
There is going to be a new service available to children and young people in Cardiff and Vale to help our emotional health and well-being. The new service will help children and young people from developing more severe mental health issues which impact on the rest of their lives.
The project involved being trained up as a Young Commissioner to help decide who should run the new service. We took part in a couple of days training where we met professionals from the Health Board and from CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and discussed as a group of young people the following:
- What pressures are affecting the emotional health and well-being of children and young people?
- What support do children and young people currently have access to?
- What do young people need from a new service?
We formed a young person's evaluation panel and interviewed potential organisations. The organisations had to apply to the Health Board, just like you would apply for a job! They delivered a presentation and we questioned them on their plans. We also met the Director of Public Health at Cardiff & Vale Health Board, Dr Sharon Hopkins, who congratulated us on our involvement in the project. It was great to work with youth councillors from Cardiff Youth Council and we also received time credits for our involvement - which we can't wait to spend!!
