In this newsletter:
Residential
Hear from our peer researchers about the Discovery residential.
Report
We researched young people’s mental health in Gwent, and gathered 7 key insights.
Stakeholders
Recap on the last Stakeholder event, and more info on what we need from you.
Discovery Residential
Between 7-9th August 2023, the peer researchers met with MOFG staff at the Urdd Residential Centre in Cardiff Bay.
The residential took place at the end of the Discovery phase of the project, as we move into the Define phase.
Up to this point, the peer researchers had gathered data from 203 11-27-year-olds across Gwent to better understand young people’s attitudes, thoughts and experiences of mental health services.
The aim of the residential was to look at the findings and pull out key insights from the research.
Ultimately, these insight will help us to design new ways to prevent young people’s mental health from getting worse.
We also took the opportunity to bond and team build, without the pressure of exams and coursework.
One of the sessions was a songwriting workshop led by RecRock, where the peer researchers wrote, performed and recorded a song about mental health.
The video below, which was filmed at the residential, offers an overview into the project so far, as well as information about the report and how the process has been for the peer researchers.
Discovery Research on Young People’s Experiences of Mental Health Support in Gwent
We started the Mind Our Future Gwent project with a piece of Discovery research. We wanted to better understand the needs of young people in Gwent and gain a clearer understanding of the support landscape in the area.
Ultimately, we want to design new ways to prevent mental health challenges from developing or worsening across Gwent and to ensure that young people get the right support at the right time, wherever they turn for help.
We employed a group of 10 peer researchers from Gwent to assist in the research. The peer researchers represent each of Gwent’s five local authority areas: Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, and Torfaen.
The Discovery research and findings will help to identify key areas of improvement for the project to focus on going forward. Once we decide on the priority need, we’ll develop ideas and start testing them. We’ll learn from the tests, scale up the ideas, and deliver the solutions.
Key Insights
Staff need to be trustworthy, understanding and friendly whilst maintaining professionalism
Services need to be flexible and accessible to all
Young people lack knowledge about the mental health services available to them in Gwent
Young people need consistency, especially when transitioning within and between services
Negative experiences of services act as a barrier to young people seeking and accessing support
Fear of stigma impacts a young person’s willingness to reach out for support
Young people need to get the right support at the right time
Stakeholder Participation
On 6th November 2023, we hosted a stakeholder event at Mercure Newport.
At the event, stakeholders heard from 5 of our peer researchers, who delivered a wonderful presentation on how they carried out mental health research with over 200 young people from Gwent. They also shared the 7 key insights from their findings.
We then had a discussion about which insights were important for us to focus on over the 4 years and started to come up with ideas about how might we best find a solution to address the challenges.
We’ll be carrying out the same exercise with young people in Gwent in the coming month so we can consider their ideas alongside what we have gathered from the professionals.
Please help us!
To help us move forward with the project, we need your help by:
Reading the report
Listen to the voices of 203 young people across Gwent.
Sharing the report
Share the discovery report with your colleagues and within your wider network.
Joining the newsletter
If you’re being sent this by a colleague, please sign up to our newsletter. Email us to let us know you’re interested in receiving these updates.
Getting involved
Have an idea on how we can work together? Let us know if your service or organisation would like to get actively involved in the MoFG project.
Keep in touch!
Email Address
info@mindourfuturegwent.co.uk
Social Media
Please email us if you'd like to be part of our stakeholder network.
Ariannir gan / Funded by
Cyflwynir gan / Delivered by
Partneriaid / Partners
