Happy Birthday to Blue Smile mental health charity
By Liz Lockhart
Blue Smile, a Cambridgeshire charity, which tackles the growing mental health problems of disadvantaged and vulnerable children ,is celebrating its first birthday.
Sarah Coates from Blue Smile tells Mental Healthy that Cambridge is considered such a prosperous and wealthy city but sadly there are serious levels of deprivation amongst children and young people.
Blue Smile will be celebrating its anniversary in September by running an event in one of the schools where it works to mark the occasion.
A new independent report published on 4thJuly 2011 and led by Labour MP Graham Allen, reinforces the benefits of early childhood intervention in preventing later emotional and behaviour problems, which often have such enormous financial and economic consequences to society. The report titled “Early Intervention: Smart Investment, Massive Savings” recommends that the Government make a radical change away from a late reaction culture to one of early intervention. By working with problem children and families early on, Graham Allen says the aim should be to provide “a social and emotional bedrock for the current and future generations of babies, children and young people”.
Blue Smile, a new Cambridgeshire charity, follows this exact approach, by tackling the growing mental health problem amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable children, through counselling and therapeutic support in Cambridge’s schools. Research increasingly shows that this early specialist intervention helps children beginning to display problems avoid long term mental health problems and associated anti-social and offending behaviours. Blue Smile is delighted to see this report and its recommendation.
“There is a growing mental health problem amongst children and young people in the UK and an unrecognized need in Cambridgeshire. This report reinforces the importance of our work and the difference early intervention can make. I see it every day and know it works” says Amanda Langford, Project Director and Founder of Blue Smile.
Blue Smile is about to celebrate its first birthday in schools, and is already making a significant difference to many local children’s lives. Blue Smile relies on fund raising to provide this effective and therapeutic service. Please visit the Blue Smile website to donate or to find out more about this: www.bluesmileproject.org
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