Mental Health Awareness

In an age when it is estimated that one in ten young people experience a mental health issue at any one time, and record numbers of people are struggling due to social media, bullying, and academic or work pressures – we believe that Scouts has a place in giving young people and adults skills for life; practice the five ways to well-being and help young people and adults to access further support.

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic we know that many people will be suffering after a pre-longed period of social isolation and we know Scouts will have a huge role to play in the recovery of young people and our local community with Mental Health and physical wellbeing being two of the biggest issues society will face in the next few years. To combat this we are embarking on a project to equip more of our volunteers with the skills to identify issues with mental health and help young people to overcome these issues. We also plan on organising a year of wellbeing activities and challenges to encourage young people and volunteers to Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Learn and Give – things which we already do as part of a balanced Scout programme but will highlight their importance.

Mental Health Training

One of the aspirations of the Mental Health and Wellbeing plan is to be able to offer volunteers some supplementary accredited training in Mental Health Awareness / First Aid. Volunteers will be taught how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. In the same way as learning physical first aid, MHFA teaches people how to recognise those crucial warning signs of mental ill health and feel confident to guide someone to appropriate support.

To do this we have funded the training of two Mental Health First Aid Instructors to provide this in house at no cost to leaders or groups. We will be able to offer three levels of course to suit those in different roles / different time commitments.

• Mental Health Aware – 4 hours
• Mental Health First Aid – 1 day
• Supervising First Aid for Mental Health – 2 day