The goal? To amplify our call for consistent, long-term funding for early support hubs, or as we know them, Youth Access YIACS (Youth Information Advice and Counselling Services) in the Government’s Budget. The campaign got our foot in the door and was successful in building great relationships with civil servants in the Department for Health and gaining recommendations from the Health and Social Care Committee - not to mention the six-charity-strong partnership brought together by the Fund the Hubs campaign, laying the foundations for us to approach the Government's new 10-year Mental Health Strategy as a strong collective force.
What next?
The Government is preparing to consult on a new Mental Health Strategy that will shape service provision and funding for the next 10 years.
This is huge. Can you imagine if we were able to attain a commitment to YIACS in a 10-year Mental Health Strategy? It is an enormous opportunity and one which has us all humming with anticipation and bursting with ambition.
How can we get involved?
In response, we’re planning a brand-new virtual Community Conference, to take place over a few weeks from April 25th. Open to all Youth Access members, the conference will be a space to come together as a community to share the evidence, ideas, insights and skills needed in the fight for long-term government funding.
Members and the young people who use your services will have the opportunity to feed into our written response to the Government's consultation. We’ll also be hosting sessions supporting members and young people to write your own responses to make sure the government is flooded with calls to Fund the Hubs!
In addition to the consultation sessions, the conference will include sessions on anti-racism in action, spokesperson training, workshops with young people and more. If it sounds too good to miss, that’s because it is! If you’re not already, sign up to our mailing list to receive conference updates.
As part of the wider Fund the Hubs campaign, the team will be continuing to facilitate visits to member organizations, highlighting the amazing work members do to key stakeholders. We’re also hosting a Fund the Hubs campaigning workshop to arm you with the tools to take to your socials and campaign within your community.
As the campaign ramps up once more, there’ll be even more opportunities to get involved, to be sure to keep an eye on our social media channels and sign up to the conference mailing list to keep up to date.
