A ‘significant’ increase in mental health referrals for young people and children has led a passionate couple to set up their own service before demand reaches ‘crisis point’.
Carla Blanksby, 31, and Ashlea Wells, 33, of Boston, launched Calm Steps, five months ago, in a bid to reduce the strain of NHS resources in south Lincolnshire.
Using their own experiences and knowledge, they hope to bridge the gap by providing holistic support to children and young people with their emotional wellbeing.
Carla and Ashlea of Calms Steps PHOTO: Submitted
Carla, who has a degree in childhood studies and is currently working towards a masters in psychology, says she understands what it feels like to be misunderstood.
Having suffered with her own mental health throughout her teenage years, she wants to reassure others that it gets better. She said: “I had EBSA (emotional based school avoidance) during my adolescence, and I think my experience has always given me passion to help others.
“Now I am through the other side, I can show other people it gets better and provide the support for them.
Carla Blanksby is the director and practitioner of Calm Steps PHOTO: Submitted
“I’ve been there and I understand there is a reason for children’s behaviour, the service is all about working with families to provide support with resilience, self confidence, self-esteem, challenging behaviours, healthy relationships and family and school environment.
“The list is endless to what we are able to offer. We also offer support to professionals who want to learn more about helping children and young people.”
Calm Steps covers the majority of Lincolnshire, but currently operates in Spalding, Boston and the surrounding areas.
The number of child and young person referrals has ‘significantly’ increased since covid 19 PHOTO: Stock
Rather than a clinical setting, Carla and Ashlea visit families in their own environment and encourage meet-ups which include activities the child enjoys, for example, playing football at the park.
After a successful first five months, the pair are hoping to set up a community interest company to apply for grants, so the service is accessible to all and not just individuals who can afford private support.
Their long term plan is to work closely with Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service) to ease pressure and workload, following the dramatic increase in referrals since the pandemic.
Carla and Ashlea set up Calm Steps five months ago PHOTO: Submitted
Ashlea, who works in the youth justice and child protection system for social services, noticed an urgent need for mental health support for children and young people.
Carla added: “The high demand for support has been building up over a long period of time.
“Services are often finding that as a result of long waiting lists, they are seeing people at crisis – we want to bridge that gap and get in there before it gets to crisis point.
Mental health stock photos Photo: istock
“I think there are a number of factors involved for the increase in referrals.
“Social media puts a lot of pressure on children and there is a lack of support available.
“People are struggling in general and the more awareness there is, the better support there can be.”
After dealing with EBSA – which refers to a reduced or nonattendance at school, caused by emotional, mental health or wellbeing difficulties – Carla believes it is vital to work with educational bodies, to provide the correct resources for pupils who are struggling.
The duo have already visited a number of schools in the area, but are keen for others to get on board.
Carla said: “I think it needs to be more of a priority in schools as their main focus is exam results and attainment – there is no focus on the wellbeing of their children and young people.
“The schools we have visited have backed what we are doing, but we want to encourage more to get on board.
“If I had been offered a trusted adult in adolescence whilst I was in school, I feel like it could have been addressed earlier on to avoid it escalating.
“There is a lot of pressure on youngsters.
“We know there are children with mental health issues and it’s about approaching them and making them aware of our service because we are here.”
Amelia Harding, Director of Operations for Specialist Services said: “Demand for mental health support for children and young people has increased significantly over the last few years, particularly since the pandemic.
“While lots of work is taking place to look at how we best meet this demand now and in the future, we do acknowledge that our waits for some services are longer than we would like at the moment.
“For our specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) this can be around seven weeks from referral to assessment.
“As well as CAMHS, we do also have a wide range of services that aim to support young people as early as possible including our Healthy Minds Lincolnshire service, and we are continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams in schools across the county.
“While children, young people and their families are waiting for specialist support, we provide a range of resources that could support during that time, including guided self-help, local community groups and activities that may help and contacts for in an emergency.
“We also regularly check in to ensure people’s needs haven’t changed or escalated during this time.
“If a young person is struggling with their mental health and wellbeing, we encourage people to contact our 24/7 free advice line Here4You on 0800 234 6342 for a discussion about the support available. This team can also take self-referrals into our services without the need to visit a GP.”
For more information about Calm Steps visit the service’s website.