28 April 2016
Victoria College and local charity Mind Jersey have joined forces to stage a new event to help students, parents and professionals deal with mental health issues that affect young people.
Promoting Healthy Young Minds is a two-day conference being held for the first time on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 July in Jersey at the Radisson Blu Hotel. It brings together local experts and well-known visiting speakers from the UK to explore how the community can support young people more.
Victoria College Headmaster Alun Watkins said "We know that many young people suffer from mental health problems that prevent them from thriving and getting what they should out of life. We recognise that teachers, parents and young people themselves are increasingly concerned and that’s where this idea came from. We want to create a place where we can help to tackle this serious issue."
The Promoting Healthy Young Minds event will be held over two days. Day one is open to professionals and volunteers who work with children and young people. Day two is open to 14 to 18 year olds in the morning and to parents in the evening.
James Le Feuvre, Executive Director for Mind Jersey, said "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Victoria College in organising this conference. It will provide an excellent opportunity to bring together a wide cross-section of young people, parents and professionals where we can share ideas and best practice in the promotion of good mental health for all children and young people."
Education Minister Deputy Rod Bryans is opening the conference. He said "We recognise that many young people are under pressure and sometimes need extra help coping with their world. We need to work together to do the best we can to support them, so this is an excellent initiative that has the potential to be immensely valuable. It’s essential that our young people know where to go if they need to talk and that the people they turn to understand what they are going through. It also ties in with the new Jersey Mental Health Strategy and, in particular, the key priority to promote prevention and early intervention."
Tickets for the three workshops are free of charge and can be booked online at Eventbrite
gov.je