A NEW way of addressing, and hopefully improving, the mental health of North Ayrshire's young people is being set out in the area's schools.

The new ‘See Me, See Change’ approach to addressing the issue in schools has been piloted by nine secondaries across North Ayrshire.

Participating are Kilwinning Academy, Irvine Royal Academy, St Matthews Academy, Arran High School, Garnock Campus, Ardrossan Academy, Auchenharvie Academy and Largs Academy.

The venture is designed to break down barriers, encourage open communication about mental health and address stigma. 

Some 103 pupils and 25 employees headed along to training sessions where they also provided feedback to See Me staff on how the materials could be used or adapted to benefit schools.

Pupils and school teams then got together and collaborated on action plans for their own schools. 

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week in May, community events were run in Irvine and Springside with the aim of raising awareness and tackling loneliness, the council’s mid year report for 2022-23 reveals.

The events were established in partnership with North Ayrshire Community Link Workers, the Green Health Partnership, Irvine Community Development Teams, KA Leisure, Impact Arts, Children 1st and the Harbour Arts Centre.

Work is continuing on a new Mental Health Hub which was set to open recently within the Woodland View mental health facility in Irvine. 

The new assessment hub is  the first of its kind in Scotland, providing unscheduled care assessment for up to 72 hours. 

North Ayrshire Council’s mental health and wellbeing delivery officers work to support young people aged 5-25 years with their wellbeing, resilience and mental health through a number of projects, events, activities and group work sessions including: suicide prevention work, family-based mental health and wellbeing learning workshops, targeted work around LGBT issues, and partnership working with the council's employability team and Ayrshire College.