#Chances4Children: Mental health scheme launched for children of Scottish Armed Forces
Fiona Simpson
Friday, September 24, 2021
A charity supporting Scottish children whose parents are in the Armed Forces has launched a new mental health pilot for families.
The Royal Caledonian Education Trust’s Listening Spaces scheme will provide a free helpline service and weekly virtual discussion groups over the next three months to support children, young people and parents from serving, reservist and veteran families.
The pilot project will provide a safe space to talk in confidence with qualified staff from the charity, on either a one-to-one basis or as a group, the charity has said.
Children and young people will be able to refer themselves to the pilot project via a specially created QR code, and the charity has issued a call on professional and military sectors who come into contact with armed forces families to establish an effective channel of referral.
It comes after demand for support services for veteran charities increased by as much as 125 per cent following the withdrawal of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Chris Paul, children and family services manager at the Royal Caledonian Education Trust said: “Children and young people from serving, reservist and veteran families are a seldom-heard group within society and responding to their specific needs, with regard to mental health and wellbeing, is crucial.
“Listening Spaces will provide Armed Forces children, young people and their families an opportunity to connect and talk about topics which matter the most to them.
“My hope is that Listening Spaces is the first step in delivering an effective range of mental health and wellbeing services for children, young people and their families.”
The charity will develop its mental health service provision further through the launch of its Your Mind Matters project early next year, which has received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to co-produce digital resources and face-to-face support with beneficiaries.
