Claire’s story is a journey from pain, frustration and almost tragedy, to one of hope, not only for her own family, but for many other families in crisis.
How it all began
“It was the end of 2016. I had spent months, struggling to get support and help for my 12-year old child who was suffering with anxiety, depression and self harming.
I returned to my GP four times asking for repeat referrals to CAMHS so they could see my child for an assessment, only to receive rejection letters each and every time. In the end it took almost tragedy to get professional attention and help.
Finding your child attempting suicide by hanging in their bedroom, is not a sight I wish any parent to experience. All because the system failed her and failed us as a family. Even then, the help we were offered didn't really help at all.
My child was then admitted to a Mental Health hospital and inevitably sectioned under the mental health act. We were led to believe this was the right thing to do as we had reached breaking point as a family.
We assumed she was then in the right place to get the care and support she needed, but we couldn’t have been more misled.
The standards and lack of sufficiently trained staff were a cause for her condition to worsen rather than improve, and the last 9 months of our child being in hospital was more like watching her in hell.
She was 12 years old, severely depressed, away from her family, and being subjected to additional traumatic experiences she should never have had to see or go through. All because there was nowhere for us to turn to get the help and support when she first needed it.
During this awful, traumatic and completely preventable experience, it became very clear to us just how many other families are struggling behind closed doors in our community with nowhere to turn.
GPs are the only ones who can refer a child to CAMHS, but they are snowed under with an enormity of cases. This leads to many children being turned away and those who aren't are put on waiting lists, which are over 18 months just for an assessment, by which time a child and their whole family will be in crisis or facing a tragedy.
The rise in Mental Health cases in young people (as young as 8) has risen dramatically in recent years. This is due to the changes in today’s society, with out-dated and broken systems, modern pressures connected to social media, bullying and prejudice.
The rise in young people struggling to cope in today’s society is escalating, resulting in anxiety, panic attacks, self-harm, depression, and eating disorders, to name a few. These can lead to withdrawal, violent outbursts, expulsions, disruption in the home, breakdown, and even attempted suicide. As a family who has gone through this, the tiny amount of support we received was completely ineffective.
From our experience, it was the other families and young people we met in the hospitals along the way who showed us understanding – that’s where we received the most comfort and support. Having had little to no support during our initial cries for help, and finding ourselves in a broken system, I knew something else was desperately needed for us and all the other families out there going through the same things. That’s when the
HOPE Charity Project was born. There was no place to go that had the therapeutic, nurturing impact that was needed, for such a serious area of health and care for our adolescent generation – so I created one.
The HOPE Charity Project exists to fill part of that massive gap. At HOPE we provide a space where those that need to be heard NOW, can get some support and have somewhere to go, where someone will understand and care. We connect families in our community with each other, so they are not alone, and are not the only ones struggling with these worries and stressful episodes.
HOPE Charity Project is the place where young people can come to meet others with similar worries, fears, sadness and frustration. They too can realise they are not alone and will not be judged, rejected or ignored. This kind of setup and carefully designed environment can literally be a lifesaver for so many. This intervention that catches and helps people early, may even be enough to not need CAMHS or an admittance to hospital. Prevention through Early Intervention is our main aim.”
HOPE Charity Project... Hold~On~Pain~Ends