Hull and East Yorkshire young people urged to talk about feelings
Charity Mind says extra support is needed for young people and their mental health due to the pandemic
We are hearing more young people across East Yorkshire are needing extra support with their mental health as a result of the pandemic.
Hull and East Yorkshire Mind are now encouraging young people to speak up about how they are feeling.
Katie Hague, clinical intervention and service manager at the charity, said: "We encourage that asking someone twice; if it is your friend, if it is your child, if it is a family member. The other thing I would encourage young people to do is sit in your classroom and count how many people are in your classroom because if you're struggling, another one in six in that room might be.
"I think just finding that one person and saying 'I need to talk to you' is the hardest for young people to do but it's also the first step to things changing to someone. For some people that's all they need, someone they can turn to every now and then.
"It's not always necessarily a service or another service, it's what's the beginning of help look like? That might be a friend, a service like ours, reaching out to us and saying 'I'm struggling. What do I do? Where do I get help?' Or it might be speaking to a teacher who might be able to put you in touch with a school nurse.
"The pandemic has taken its toll because of the added pressures that's placed on our young people, their families and their normal life as they know it. Sudden and unexpected change that young people have had to deal with would understandably cause a lot of additional stress."
You can contact Mind here.