Social prescribing: the role of YIACS

While social prescribing has been around for decades, it has come into the fore more recently thanks to the NHS Long Term Plan, which outlined social prescribing as key to the NHS’s commitment to a model of more person-centred, integrated care.

With new funding to extend social prescribing to thousands more individuals, and the development of new resources and frameworks to support the implementation of appropriate services for children & young people, this nationwide initiative will have broad implications – and offer opportunities – for youth services in the voluntary and community sector.

To help our members make the most of the opportunities that this roll-out presents, and to ensure that the models of social prescribing they develop are centred on young people's needs and rights, Youth Access has published a new member briefing on social prescribing for young adults, and is organising a webinar focusing on the barriers and solutions for Youth Access members taking part in NHS-funded social prescribing.

Who is the webinar for?

The webinar is for managers and practitioners at youth information, advice and counselling servcies (YIACS) in the UK who are interested in the potential opportunities offered by the national roll-out of social prescribing, and how YIACS principles can help create youth-centred and rights based social prescribing models. The webinar is exclusive to managers and practitioners at Youth Access member organisations (find out how your organisation can become a member here.)

What will the webinar cover?

In the webinar we will look at questions like:

• What role do Youth Access YIACS have in the national roll-out of social prescribing?
• What have we learned from the Youth Access members involved in youth social prescribing programmes?
• How can social prescribing be used as an effective intervention to address mental health and wellbeing, as well as socioeconomic issues affecting young people?
• What evidence is there for the effectiveness of youth-centred social prescribing models, and how can we use this to inform our own practice?

The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions.

At the webinar we will be joined by Dawn Mitchell of StreetGames, who will share the findings of research on their successful social prescribing pilot programme, involving two Youth Access members.

How do I attend?

If you would like to attend, simply click "Get Tickets" below and complete the steps to register. Note that places are limited, so book soon to avoid disappointment. Once your attendance is confirmed, we will send details for how to access the online meeting room.