This week we are focusing on older young people, such as college and university students and acknowledging the pressures on young people who are now required to be more independent, and may be away from home for the first time. This can be difficult but particularly so for those students who have been bereaved. Dealing with a pandemic and local coronavirus outbreaks and lockdowns on top of everything else is certainly challenging.
Following on from our blog we thought it might be helpful to list a few organisations and apps that are there to support a young person when they are away from home, perhaps for the first time, and managing stress, anxiety, low mood, isolation. As well as those who offer more specific bereavement support.
There is a designated student mental health charity called Student Minds. The website explains how to access support, be it via text, webchat or phone or email support. It also provides advice and information on helping young people through the coronavirus pandemic. There are sections on grief and loss too that seek to explain the grieving process and offer ways to help look after yourself when you are bereaved.
Young minds is a charity that seek to support the mental well-being of young people. There is a lot of information on the website, both for young people themselves but also for parents/carers who are worried about them. If you use the search button and type in University, there are a lot of helpful blog posts addressing some of the issues that young people may face.
Papyrus is an organisation that works for the prevention of young suicide. They have a designated helpline – Hopeline UK – that is open every day from 9 am to midnight for young people worried that they might take their own life, but also for friends and family members to get advice should they be worried about a young person. There are also a lot of articles on the website that are worth a read, in particular an article on ‘Self Care for Students in Isolation’ that was recently posted.
There are also a lot of mental health apps that might be helpful to help relieve stress and anxiety. Many of them are listed on this NHS website, or on the Mind website, including a section on the impact of coronavirus and support available.
For young people who have been bereaved and need to find support in their local area we suggest checking Cruse for local adult services, and their young people’s service Hope Again as well as the Childhood Bereavement Network for information on services for young people
Many colleges have a chaplaincy or counselling service who can offer advice and support on wellbeing, which may include bereavement.
‘Let’s talk about loss’ offer a service to 18-35 year olds which includes online support and peer meet ups.
If you are interested in more information about some of the techniques suggested in Monday’s post we have provided some links to follow below:
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