Member news: Pathways to Confidence improving the wellbeing of young people
28 November 2016
Covey Befriending, in collaboration with Bellshill and Mossend YMCA, has improved the overall happiness of the families that have been involved with its 'Pathways to Confidence' project.
Operating across Lanarkshire this partnership project aims to improve the outcomes for children aged 8 to 14 and their families who are experiencing difficulties in their lives such as poor mental health, poverty, isolation and substance misuse. Using a whole system approach, mentoring is provided to young people and to parents and carers.
When the project was evaluated by North Lanarkshire Psychological Services they discovered that young people involved had improved their levels of engagement at school and had been socialising and spending more quality time with family.
After six months of having a mentor, parents and carers reported that their mental wellbeing had improved and they felt less isolated and lonely. After a year they reported a reduction in depression and anxiety. They also reported that they were taking part in less risk taking behaviours.
The Pathways to Confidence programme is being funded by the William Grant Foundation, through Foundation Scotland.
More information is available on the Pathways to Confidence website and in the project's first year report, available to download below.
