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£8.8 million funding boost for Wolverhampton mental health project

A scheme in Wolverhampton which gives young people mental health support is to receive an £8.8 million boost, securing funding for the next five years.

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The ground-breaking HeadStart project is designed to improve the health and well-being of children and young people by giving them the skills they need to cope with the stresses of modern life. Thousands of young people received help and support during a two-year pilot programme.

And Wolverhampton council has today been told it will receive a further £8.8m from the Big Lottery Fund to continue HeadStart until 2021.

The city's education boss, Councillor Val Gibson, welcomed today's announcement.

"This is absolutely fantastic news for young people in our city," she said.

"Improving the health and wellbeing of our young people are priorities for the council and I am delighted that the HeadStart programme will continue playing a key role in this.

"Through the first two years of the programme, we've been able to find out what works best for our young people. The tremendous benefits our pilot projects have brought have been recognised by the Big Lottery Fund, and this £8.8m grant will enable us to support thousands more young people over the next five years."

The city was one of 12 areas in England selected to receive funding from the Big Lottery Fund in 2014 to develop new services for young people.

The project is geared at youngsters aged between 10 and 16 and during the pilot phases, phase one and two, HeadStart Wolverhampton delivered special resilience training to 2,400 young people, helping them deal with change, build relationships and tackle problems which could cause depression and anxiety.

More than 350 pupils were trained to offer support and mentoring to their peers, while hundreds of education and other professionals were also equipped to deliver resilience sessions.

Across the city, 15 pilot projects were also run in the community, mainly by voluntary organisations commissioned by the council. These reached over 1,100 young people. Hundreds more young people also either took part in digital programmes or played key roles in helping to shape the HeadStart programme in the city.

An evaluation of the pilot programme by the University of Wolverhampton found that young people were using their new coping strategies and social and emotional skills to modify their behaviour and improve relationships in school and with their friends and family. Meanwhile, teachers noted that pupils were dealing with situations better.

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