A conference to celebrate Youth Mental Health Awareness Day took place at the Guildhall in Hull this week.
The theme of this year’s Thrive Hull Conference 2023 was #BeBrave and there was a packed programme to support professionals who work with children and young people in the city to do exactly that.
The conference invited professionals working in education, health, care and the voluntary and community sector to come together as equal partners.
This year’s conference focused on emerging needs of Hull’s young people and how professionals can work together to address those needs and support disadvantaged groups across the city.
The conference was delivered by the Thrive Partnership, a partnership of key organisations and partners in the city that work to protect and promote children and young people’s good emotional wellbeing and mental health. It is led jointly by Hull City Council and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
The conference saw over 200 professionals who work with children and young people from across the sectors come together to learn more about the support available for children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health and the important role they play in developing good quality relationships with those young people.
It also gave attendees the chance to have in-depth discussions on the higher rates of mental ill health of children and young people who identify as LGBTQI+, or those who are neurodiverse.
Promoting children and young people’s wellbeing is a key part of keeping them safe, helping them develop and ensuring they have positive outcomes into adulthood.
Mental health is as important to a child’s safety and wellbeing as their physical health. It can impact on all aspects of their life, including their educational attainment, relationships, and physical wellbeing, including risk of obesity and inactivity. Mental health can also change over time, to varying degrees of seriousness, and for different reasons.
Good mental health is an essential part of healthy development; it helps young people build positive social, emotional, thinking and communication skills and behaviours. It also lays the foundation for better mental health and wellbeing later in life.
Councillor Linda Tock, portfolio holder for Children’s Services at Hull City Council said: “The council’s Early Help and Prevention Strategy identifies the emotional health and wellbeing of our children and young people as a priority.”
“The Thrive Conference was a great success in bringing professionals together to network and learn how they can better support our young people.”
For information on services, including self-help that are available in Hull to support children and young people with their emotional wellbeing and mental health, please visit www.howareyoufeeling.org.uk.
