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Mental health fund for migrant children launches

1 min read Social Care
Councils and charities are being invited to apply for a £2.5m mental health fund to support refugee children from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
Around Around 100,000 children from the three countries are set to be eligible for support through the funding. Picture: Ministry of Defence
Around Around 100,000 children from the three countries are set to be eligible for support through the funding. Picture: Ministry of Defence

The funding aims to boost access to counselling and therapy for young people under the age of 21 from the three countries who are now living in the UK.

It is also set to pay for English language courses, job training and higher education support, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which has launched the funding stream.

The funding can also pay for support to help children retain their cultural identity and help them integrate into their local communities.

Around 100,000 children from the three countries are set to be eligible for support through the funding.

Applications close on 1 November. An online event for applicants is being held on 6 October. Those interested are being asked to email CYPRFund@levellingup.gov.uk 

The department has also announced that councils will continue to receive funding to support 21-year-olds who have arrived through visa and humanitarian schemes, including young people in their second year on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

“It’s hard to imagine the trauma some young people will have experienced fleeing conflict, war or persecution in their home countries,” said housing and communities minister Felicity Buchan.

“This funding will help young people arriving better settle into their new communities, while retaining a connection to their own culture.”

Earlier this year teaching union NASUWT said that extra funding and training for teachers was needed to support the needs of refugee and asylum-seeking pupils. The union also called for improved access to mental health support due to the emotional wellbeing issues experienced by this group of children.

According to the Refugee Council people seeking safety in the UK “are often deeply traumatised”. Three in five asylum seekers experience “serious mental distress” and are five times more likely to have a mental health need than the wider UK population.

The charity is accepting referrals in Kent for its My View Children’s Therapy Service for 12- to 17-year-olds. It also runs creative therapeutic groups in the county.  


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