Trafford Park HQ YCW Group Meets

The regular meeting of the YCW Group based at the Trafford Park HQ has met to discuss the topic of young people and mental health.

The group used the National Campaign MIND! The Gap resource (which can be found here) to explore the topic and ask members of the group their thoughts and opinions about this incredibly important issue.

The first question they tackled was about the understanding of the term "mental health". It was generally agreed that using the term "mental health" often carried wholly negative ideas and emphasis, whereas the more positive areas of mental health were ignored. This often means that mental health becomes a taboo subject, compared to wider health issues that people seem happier to talk more freely about.

The group also focused on the issues around mental health and work. The main conclusion here was that it didn't really matter the type of work you are doing, so long as it gave you dignity and you could feel valued and appreciated.

Alongside important issues of pay and conditions, members felt being able to take pride in one's work had the biggest impact on having good mental health.

Finally, stress and being made to over-work were the biggest aspects of poor mental health, and yet, few in the Group felt they would call in sick on the basis of poor mental health.

Preston YCW Visit

Last month, Marc from the YCW National Team visited the Preston YCW group to discuss their work, how they could help with the current National Campaign – MIND! The Gap – and what plans they have for the future.

About a dozen young members were there to discuss the topics with Marc and took the opportunity to elect their President, Secretary and Treasurer for the Group. They also shared with him some very positive press coverage recognising their activities and the benefits it has brought them.

Comments included that YCW/IMPACT gave them greater social skills, encouraged them to be more supportive of each other and explore how they can make positive differences.

In addition to this, it was great to see the recent success at the Million Minutes Awards being celebrated by the Group and Diocese. In the Jimmy Mizen Award Category, a YCW member in Lytham called Ella Holliday won the award for promoting solidarity and peace.

Ella is currently the youngest member of the 'Young Peace Journalists'. She chose the refugee crisis as her focus and built her own links with various agencies to make contact with refugees. Within that work and her work as a Anti-Bullying Respect Ambassador she witnesses to and communicates the gospel message. Her teacher has said of her: “Ella is an inspiration, she lives out the Gospel values each day; her presence and maturity of faith in action is beyond her years."

Marc also took the chance to discuss our MIND! The Gap campaign and run through some of the SEE stage questions that we are currently covering through a survey on our website. The feedback from Preston was about the pressures of studies and work-life on young people.

Finally, there were exiting plans from the Group to visit our partner YCW groups and young people around the world. 

Marc Besford welcomed the achievements of the Preston YCW Group saying: "The work being done by the Young People here is extraordinary. They are tremendous advocates for themselves and their peers. I hope to see their efforts continue and look forward to what else they can offer to our movement. Thanks also to Terry for his sterling work as ever being the Chaplain to the Group."

YCW Launches Time-2-Talk Regional Events

The YCW are pleased to announce two regional events will be taking place as part of our new National Campaign, MIND! The Gap.

To begin with, the YCW will be organising these event across the North-West and North-East of England.

The purpose of these events is to bring all the groups together within the regions to discuss how their thoughts about the issue of mental health and how these can help contribute to our campaign.

• North East Region will take place on Sunday 18th March at Holy Rosary, Billingham, TS23 2EP starting at 11am and will finish around 3pm. You are also invited to attend the local Parish Mass in Holy Rosary Church at 9:30am before the event.

• North West Region will take place on Sunday 25th March at St Anthony's Centre, Trafford Park, M17 1JF starting at 10am and will finish around 3pm. There will be Mass following the event at St Anthony's Church (next door to the Centre).

YCW NEC Meets to Plan Year Ahead

This past weekend the YCW NEC met at our Trafford Park HQ to discuss our plans for the upcoming year.

The main focus was on our current National Campaign called MIND! The Gap - which is focusing on the issue of young people and mental health. The NEC looked over our YCW Survey that has been produced to collect the thoughts and experiences of young people as part of our SEE stage in the campaign. 

Further to this, there was discussion about building a national campaign team of young members, who could come together to develop and and drive forward the ideas around MIND! The Gap. These members would be key links to our regional groups across England and Wales and ensure that we get as much involvement as possible.

Following the SEE stage will be the JUDGE and ACT stages, so work has already started to timeline these over the next year, as well as organising events and training throughout this period.

On a separate topic, the NEC discussed some upcoming European and International YCW events that National Training and Development Worker, Marc Besford, will be leading on. Marc is currently coordinating responses from movements across Europe to feed into a discussion at the International HQ next month. 

Finally, there were preliminary discussions about the YCW National Council for 2018 - expected to be in late April. The National Council draws together members, companions and national leaders from across the country to provide training, plan for the future, as well as the official aspects of the Council itself - approving the accounts and resolutions put before the members.

SEE Stage of National Campaign Launched

The YCW has today launched our national consultation on Young People and Mental Health.

We are looking for young people across England and Wales to share their thoughts about the current state of mental health in our country, especially the reality for young people.

An overwhelming amount of our members have expressed their deep concerns about the current help available to young people with mental health problems, as well as the stigma attached to it.

Because of this concern the YCW has launched a National Action Campaign on mental health among young people, called MIND! The Gap.

The first stage being run is focused around exploring the issue more deeply and finding out the opinions and experiences of young people. A key part of this is a short survey covering a variety of aspects around mental health, which can be found on our website – www.ycwimpact.com/national-campaign-resources or directly at https://tinyurl.com/ycw-mental-health-survey.   

Marc Besford, the National Training and Development Worker of the YCW, said: “This campaign is carried out on a national basis so that we can, as a Movement of young people, join together to make a real difference to the lives of our peers.

We want them to know that their voice matters and hope they take part in this important survey. Once we have the information together we can then move forward with the campaign.”

MIND! The Gap Resource Available

To kick-start our new National Campaign, called MIND! The Gap, there is a new resource available for YCW and IMPACT groups to use in order to get have candid look at the mental well-being of young people and the support available to them.

The resources gives an overview of the reasons for the campaign, provides helpful tips on how to use the campaign and offers a series of enquiries for Groups to explore amongst themselves. This work will form part of the first stage known as the SEE part of the YCW process.

The resource is FREE to download at http://www.ycwimpact.com/national-campaign-resources/ where other fantastic resources can be found.