The cost of living crisis is affecting many young people and the services they rely on. Join us for an in-depth discussion, alongside guest speakers and funders at our Cost of Living Crisis webinar.   Our second webinar is approaching and will explore an issue at the top of many people's agendas: the cost of living crisis. We will be joined by guest speakers and funders from MAP, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Youth Futures Foundation, for an in-depth discussion on the current cost of living crisis. The webinar will take place via Zoom on November 24th from 10:00-12:00. The session will be a space for you to: give insights into the current landscape provide you with opportunities to connect with other members who are experiencing similar challenges explore the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on young people discuss the impact of this crisis on you and other members, and what it means for you going forward  This webinar will be the second in our series of events, and is offered exclusively to full members. Virtual meeting links will be sent to all attendees via email ahead of the event. Key details: Date: 10:00-12:00 Thursday 24th November Where: Online (Zoom) Who: This webinar is only accessible to Youth Access full members  How: Tickets are free for all staff from member organisations If you're having difficulties logging in to get tickets please sign up here http://ow.ly/9NVf50LsQfq

Join us for an introduction to Youth Access.  We've been busily beavering away behind the scenes for over a year now to ensure we are creating an inclusive and useful community for our members.  We've been building this new website, creating a new organisational strategy, and developing a clear and exciting member offer to ensure you are getting the very best out of our network - and we can't wait to tell you all about it! But, more importantly, we're excited to hear from you! That's why we are putting together a series of webinars over the coming months. As well as sharing our vision with you, we want to know more about what you'd like to see more of from us.   This first webinar will be a space for us to:  talk all things membership update you on our new strategic vision and goals introduce you to the Youth Access Team   Key details: Date: 10:00 - 11:00 Thursday 20th October Where: Online via Zoom (you will receive a Zoom link closer to the time) Who: This will be the only webinar in the series to be accessible to all Youth Access members 

** Once your attendance is confirmed, we will send details on how to access the online meeting room ** Over the past few years, we have been supporting a network of young 'Rights Advocates’ across the country as part of the Our Minds Our Future campaign – a youth-led campaign fighting for a mental health system that meets young people’s human rights.   Through bringing together young people who are passionate about raising a collective voice - at both the local and national level - we have developed the ‘Our Minds Our Future’ manifesto and continue to learn a lot through the training & campaigning that we have been doing with young people to drive forward this vision in their local areas.  Now, we want to work with our members to figure out how best to use our skills and insights as a national body to bolster your local campaigning efforts, and how all of your local young activists could feed into a bigger collective with national impact.  On Thursday 22nd April 10-11:30am we are holding a workshop that will entail:  An explainer of our youth-led campaigning at Youth Access so far and how we have been supporting young people to lead change.   A discussion about where we, as a collective, should take this next - focusing on how we can marry up the national insight and access to influencing spaces that Youth Access has, with the local infrastructure, community understanding & reach that our members have.  Beyond this session, we're hoping to convene a learning collaborative of Youth Access staff, members (and maybe young leaders, too) who are supporting young people/peers to influence change locally, so that we can exchange ideas, tools, challenges and opportunities across a national network. Who should attend?  Members that are interested in supporting young people to lead change in the mental health system  Staff who work directly with young people on participation and social action  How do I attend? If you would like to attend, simply click "Get Tickets" below and complete the steps to register. Once your attendance is confirmed, we will send details on how to access the online meeting room.

From mass job and income losses, to being trapped in abusive households, and paying rent for university accommodation they can’t use, each new day seems to bring another news story of the blight of Coronavirus on the lives of the young. These varied and disproportionate social and economic effects of the pandemic on young people's lives are having a significant effect on their mental health. As services that look at young people as more than just a mental health diagnosis, understanding these social determinants of young people's mental health is vital for the youth advice and counselling sector. To support this understanding, Youth Access is organising a webinar for members to look at the social and economic issues impacting young people's mental health in the wake of the pandemic and develop collaborative solutions to these common challenges. 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 social and economic issues impacting on young people's mental health in the wake of the pandemic, and how the youth advice and counselling sector can work to address them. The webinar is exclusive to managers and practitioners at Youth Access member organisations (find out how your organisation can become a member here.) Please note that, in order to ensure a diversity of voices in the webinar, places are limited to one per Youth Access member organisation. What will the webinar cover? In the webinar we will look at questions like: How has the pandemic exacerbated the social and economic issues that young people face on the journey to adulthood? What impact are these issues having on young people's mental health? What has the effect been on existing inequalities and the needs of young people who were already facing particular issues and challenges? How can the youth counselling and advice sector respond to these emerging issues? How can Youth Access support members to develop collaborative solutions to these common challenges? The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions. The webinar will be facilitated by Ruby Waterworth, Policy & Campaigns Officer at Youth Access, who will give an overview of the key findings of the latest Youth Access briefing 'Generation COVID'? Socio-economic factors impacting young people's mental health in the wake of the pandemic. The webinar will also serve as the launching pad for a new task and finish group to support the development of further briefings in the series looking at how the youth advice and counselling sector can respond. 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.

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.

The Covid-19 pandemic plunged the whole country into an unprecedented crisis – but youth advice and counselling services adapted impressively to continue supporting young people through the outbreak. As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown, it’s vital that we continue to innovate, and use the opportunity to transform the mental health system into one that meets young people’s needs and respects their rights.   As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to support members with the raft of challenges they face as we build for a post-lockdown future – and ensure that young people’s human rights are at the heart of our sector’s coronavirus recovery.   As part of this work, we are organising a new series of webinars to bring together Youth Access members and provide a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns.   The third webinar in the series will bring together senior managers to look at what role voluntary sector organisations have to play in our recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, and how we can work collaboratively with statutory services to ensure our sector's voice is heard by policy-makers and service commissioners and ensure the best possible local service provision for young people.   Who is the webinar for?   This webinar has been organised for senior managers (CEOs, directors and co-ordinators) of youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) in the UK. The webinar is exclusive to Youth Access members. 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 should voluntary sector organisations have in the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic? What does the NHS Long Term Plan mean for the future of young people's mental health services? What are the challenges for voluntary sector organisations in collaborating with the statutory sector, and what does success look like? How can the voluntary and statutory sectors work together to ensure young people's rights are respected? The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions.   To give perspective, information and insight from the stautory sector, we will be joined by guest speakers Dr Phil Moore, Deputy Chair (Clinical) at NHS Kingston CCG and David Lockwood, Deputy Head, Petinatal and Children and Young People's Mental Health at NHS England.   The webinar will be led by our Policy & Campaigns Officer Ruby Waterworth, and will also feature presentations from selected Youth Access members on how they have worked collaboratively with the statutory sector to secure strong outcomes for young people.   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.

The Covid-19 pandemic plunged the whole country into an unprecedented crisis – but youth advice and counselling services adapted impressively to continue supporting young people through the outbreak. As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown, it’s vital that we continue to innovate, and use the opportunity to transform the mental health system into one that meets young people’s needs and respects their rights.   As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to support members with the raft of challenges they face as we build for a post-lockdown future – and ensure that young people’s human rights are at the heart of our sector’s coronavirus recovery.   As part of this work, we are organising a new series of webinars to bring together Youth Access members and provide a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns.   The second webinar in the series will bring together frontline practitioners and participation leads at Youth Access member organisations to look at ways to involve young people in service design and delivery as we emerge from coronavirus lockdown.   Who is the webinar for?   This webinar has been organised for frontline practitioners and participation leads at Youth Information, Advice and Counselling Services (YIACS). The webinar is exclusive to practitioners at Youth Access member organisations. Find out how your organisation can become a member here.   Please note that in order to ensure that as many diverse perspectives as possible are represented at the webinar, there is a limit of one participant per organisation.   What will the webinar cover?   In the webinar we will look at questions like: What models of participation can we use to ensure that young people are at the centre of our recovery from coronavirus? What practices can we use that enable a "blended" model of participation work that combines remote and in-person activities? How can we bring the voices of young people to decision-makers to ensure they are listened to and valued? What digital tools can help us with remote participation work? Participants will have an opportunity before the webinar to shape the agenda and let us know which of these questions is most important to them.   The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions. The webinar will contribute towards creating a Community of Practice, supporting members through a variety of challenges arising from the coronavirus crisis.   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.

The Covid-19 pandemic plunged the whole country into an unprecedented crisis – but youth advice and counselling services adapted impressively to continue supporting young people through the outbreak. As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown, it’s vital that we continue to innovate, and use the opportunity to transform the mental health system into one that meets young people’s needs and respects their rights.   As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to support members with the raft of challenges they face as we build for a post-lockdown future – and ensure that young people’s human rights are at the heart of our sector’s coronavirus recovery.   As part of this work, we are organising a new series of webinars to bring together Youth Access members and provide a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns.   The first webinar in the series will bring together senior managers to look at strategy and practicalities as we plan for a rights-based coronavirus recovery.   Who is the webinar for?   This webinar has been organised for senior managers (CEOs, directors and co-ordinators) of youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) in the UK. The webinar is exclusive to Youth Access members. Find out how your organisation can become a member here.   What will the webinar cover?   In the webinar we will look at questions like: How can we harness the innovation of the past few months to build a mental health system that respects young people’s rights? How can we protect our workforce and ensure the safety of frontline practitioners? How can we secure our finances and find new funding opportunities? How can we meet the challenges of safeguarding young people as we emerge from lockdown? Participants will have an opportunity before the webinar to shape the agenda and let us know which of these questions is most important to them.   The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions. The webinar will contribute towards creating a Community of Practice, supporting members through a variety of challenges arising from the coronavirus crisis.   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.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has plunged us into an unprecedented crisis. The youth advice and counselling sector is facing a host of challenges, from a pivot to remote working and the effect of the crisis on young people's mental health to critical pressures on funding. As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to ensure that the sector is equipped to meet the challenges we face. As part of our response to the current situation, we are organising a series of webinars to provide members with a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns. The third webinar in the series will bring together practitioners working at youth information, advice and counselling services to look at the challenges of engaging young people in the age of social distancing, and share tools and ideas for how to produce high quality digital activities. Who is the webinar for? This webinar has been organised for practitioners providing services directly to young people at youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) in the UK. The webinar is exclusive to 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 how to keep young people engaged during lockdown through activities such as online group sessions, social media and remote training. It will cover questions like: How can we create online spaces and activities to keep young people engaged? What tools and innovative practices are there that can help us to support young people's participation and engagement? How can we support young people who face barriers to participating remotely? The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions. The webinar will contribute towards creating a Community of Practice, supporting members through a variety of challenges arising from the coronavirus crisis. 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.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has plunged us into an unprecedented crisis. The youth advice and counselling sector is facing a host of challenges, from a pivot to remote working and the effect of the crisis on young people's mental health to critical pressures on funding. As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to ensure that the sector is equipped to meet the challenges we face. As part of our response to the current situation, we are organising a series of webinars to provide members with a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns. The second webinar in the series will bring together practitioners working at youth information, advice and counselling services to look at the challenges of safeguarding vulnerable young people during the coronavirus crisis. Who is the webinar for? This webinar has been organised for practitioners providing services directly to young people at youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) in the UK. The webinar is exclusive to 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 safeguarding practice when delivering advice and counselling services remotely, including via digital and video channels. It will cover questions like: What crucial safeguarding policies and practices can help us protect young people during the coronavirus crisis? How can we protect young people whose protective factors have been reduced due to the lockdown? How can we support young people who face barriers to accessing remote services? The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences, challenges and solutions. The webinar will be a first step towards creating a Community of Practice, supporting members through a variety of challenges arising from the coronavirus crisis. 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.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has plunged us into an unprecedented crisis. The youth advice and counselling sector is facing a host of challenges, from a pivot to remote working and the effect of the crisis on young people's mental health to critical pressures on funding. As the national membership organisation for youth information, advice and counselling services, Youth Access is working to ensure that the sector is equipped to meet the challenges we face. As part of our response to the current situation, we are organising a series of webinars to provide members with a forum to discuss challenges, share ideas and practices and find opportunities to work together on collective resources and campaigns. The first webinar will bring together senior managers to look at strategic considerations including service delivery, funding, and remote working for staff. Who is the webinar for? This webinar has been organised for senior managers (CEOs, directors and co-ordinators) of youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) in the UK. The webinar is exclusive to Youth Access members. 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 approaches have Youth Access members taken to service delivery during the lockdown? How has funding been affected, what responses have come from funders and what steps are members taking to mitigate the impact of lost funds? How have members organised remote working for staff and what issues and gaps have arisen? The webinar will be a participatory space where each participant will have the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas. 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.

Please arrive in time for a prompt 11am start 11:00-11:30 Welcome and introductions 11:30-12:30 Project and policy update from Youth Access 12:30-13:00 Presentation from partner 13:00-13:30 Lunch 13:30-14:30 Knowledge sharing workshop 14:30-14:45 Break 14:45-15:45 Learning collaborative planning workshop 15:45 -16:00 Next steps and goodbyes