BEH service for vulnerable young men walks off with two national health awards

A BEH community mental health and wellbeing service that has transformed services for young people labelled as gang members and affected by serious youth violence has scooped two national health awards.

Project Future, which is led by BEH in partnership with Haringey Council and Mind in Haringey, picked up the Specialist Service and Mental Health awards at the prestigious Health Service Journal awards in Manchester. It was also highly commended in the redeveloping Community Based Services category.

The judges said: “The winner has a great community based project, creating time and space to provide a trusting environment. The judges felt that this was a project that every locality should employ looking after both physical and mental health.”

They continued: “This is an exemplary practice covering a wide range of specialities delivering a ground breaking service. The judges felt there is an excellent use of interventions with profound statements from service users. The winners were innovative and demonstrated positive outcomes for a disenfranchised population group.”

The service provides psychological interventions and support for young people aged between 11 and 25 in Haringey alongside practical activities and life skills such as CV writing, creative art, and cooking.

In the five years it has been running the service has supported more than 300 young people with complex multi-level needs who find it difficult to access services. It has also influenced the design of mental health services for young men at local and national levels.

More than 70% accessed mental health support – with a significant reduction in symptoms – and nearly half accessed education, employment and training through the service.

Dr Suchitra Bhandari, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who leads the service and is BEH’s Head of Psychological Therapies, says: “Both the team and our young people at Project Future are thrilled to have won these national awards. The awards go a long way in recognising the hard work of our young people, staff, team and partners who have worked together to make Project Future a success. I am so proud of our young people who have co-created this project at every level.”

BEH Chief Executive Jinjer Kandola said: “This is tremendous news and richly-deserved recognition for our staff and partners who have done so much to bring positive change to the lives of some of our most disadvantaged young people. This demonstrates the tremendous hard work of colleagues across the Trust.”