Social support We know from the social model of health that there are factors which contribute to declining mental health. These include systemic social, cultural, and political inequalities, as well our personal environment and life events. If you have listened to a young person who has expressed worries about their life circumstances, you can signpost them towards targeted support. Using your MHFAider app or the Hub of Hope website directly, you can explore social supports local to the young person using the support tags e.g., ‘Homelessness’, ‘Abuse’, ‘Financial support’, ‘Blind and Sight Impaired support’, and ‘Bereavement’. Help the young person take the first step Let the young person know that to get help for poor mental health they’ll need to talk to someone who can put them in touch with their local children and young people’s mental health services. This is usually called a referral. There are several people the young person can speak to for a referral, including (105): – Parent(s)/carer(s) – Teachers – School nurses – GPs (General Practitioners)
– Youth workers – Social workers
If the young person isn’t comfortable talking to someone on this list, they can refer themselves instead. This is called self-referral. The contact details or application form will be on their local services website, which can be found by searching online for “children and young people’s mental health services” and including the county they live in.
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