Harrogate bereavement and emotional wellbeing charity Just ‘B’ has been awarded a grant boost of more than £30,000 to support vulnerable young people in North Yorkshire over school holidays.
The grant received from the Youth Endowment Covid-19 Fund is part of £6.5m offered to 130 organisations across the country to help connect with young people at risk of being drawn into violent crime and to tackle any problems vulnerable young people may be experiencing because of COVID-19.
The Just ‘B’ support, which will be provided whilst maintaining social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines, includes talking therapy with vulnerable pupils during the summer holidays and workshops to improve understanding of risks and heighten awareness for vulnerable young people, their families and staff. Themes covered will gangs and youth violence, domestic abuse and digital media risks.
The Youth Endowment Fund was established last year with a £200m endowment from the Home Office to find out what is effective to prevent children and young people from being drawn into violent crime. It funds and evaluates projects across England and Wales and build support with others to put effective approaches into practice.
Tony Collins, chief executive of Just ‘B’ said:
The challenges and hardships that some of our most vulnerable young people face have been exacerbated by COVID-19, social distancing and isolation.
We are proud to be one of the organisations chosen for this grant and it will enable us to build on the work we are already doing to help children and young people to overcome difficult circumstances and face a more positive future.
Just ‘B’ is one of the services provided by hospice care charity Saint Michael’s and was set up 10 years ago to provide specialist support to adults, young people and children across the district affected by bereavement.
Responding to needs of the community, Just ‘B’ services have expanded over the years and now offers a range of emotional wellbeing support, including bereavement support, counselling to adults, crisis support to schools and a special schools service, as well as community helplines and COVID-19 helplines to NHS staff, care workers and the emergency services.
