Wimbledon community fund awards grant to stem4 for Parent Conference

A recent national stem4 survey of 1000 parents in the UK revealed 72% of parents felt ill-equipped to deal with their child or young persons’ mental health difficulties. If a parent was also experiencing difficulty with his or her mental health, 48% of 994 Nationwide GPs surveyed said they would refer the parent for counselling, but almost no GPs knew of services to help support and educate the parents through this difficult time. The Wimbledon Community Fund grant awarded to stem4 will allow the charity to improve upon these statistics across the Merton and Wandsworth areas, through the provision of a conference that equips parents with accurate, evidence-based information on supporting young people’s mental health as well as protecting their own.

To help assist parents in identifying and supporting the mental health of their young people, stem4, the Merton based charity promoting positive mental health in teenagers, has been awarded a grant from the Wimbledon Community Fund to host a local Parents Conference. The evening conference will take place this Autumn with around 200 parents from across Merton and Wandsworth invited to attend. The conference will provide clinician delivered information on the early signs of mental ill health in young people, steps to enhance wellbeing and strategies for early intervention, together with examples of lived experiences by our ambassadors. Parents will also be provided with information on where to go for further help.