Health and wellbeing
Wellbeing service launches hub for young people in Willenhall
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A health and wellbeing service supporting young people aged 15-25 in Walsall has launched their fourth hub.
The Positive Outcomes Project (also known as POP) launched Hub 4 at Willenhall Pavillion in Willenhall Memorial Park on Thursday 7 November 2024. The launch took part during Youth Work Week (4-10 November) and was attended by representatives from the council, Midland Langar Seva Society, health and other local organisations.
Funded by Walsall Council Public Health and led by Bloxwich Community Partnership, POP aims to support young people as they transition into adulthood through one-to-one mentoring, peer support and group activities. The service aims to help young people identify and achieve their goals, particularly around mental health and wellbeing, employability and physical health.
The service is run by mentoring staff at each hub and voluntary buddies – young people who have accessed the service previously and help new service users to join in and integrate in group activities. The service also has strong links with partner organisations, such as Turning Point, Change Grow Live, WISH (Walsall Integrated Sexual Health) and Walsall College. Since the service opened in October 2022, over 400 young people have accessed the service for a range of health and wellbeing needs.
The service already has three hubs offering face to face support in Blakenall (Bloxwich Community Partnership), the Saddlers Centre (Manor Farm Community Association) and Pleck Youth Centre (Youth Connect). Hub four will be operated by Midland Langar Seva Society.
Support is also available via the POP website and the mobile hub which travels to locations across the borough.
“ I am delighted that we are expanding the POP service to Willenhall, which will enable us to reach out to more young people in the local area.
The service connects with young people through a combination of face to face and online support. In the previous quarter, we saw 324 visits to the hubs from new and existing service users, which shows that this service is vitally needed to support young people to thrive and be happy, healthy and well.
To ensure we can continue offering the best support, we would like to hear the views of young people about their experiences, thoughts and opinions, whether they have accessed the service or not. If you know or work with a young person, please encourage them to take part and have their say. “
“ We are looking forward to launching our fourth hub in such a fantastic, youth friendly venue in the Willenhall area, following our success in the North, South and Central Walsall.
In partnership with Midland Langar Seva Society, we aim to bring a warm and welcoming space for young people to attend and expand their skills with activities such as boxing and music production, as well as accessing the service for support.
All young people accessing the hubs are referred into the POP Service and are contacted by a member of the POP team, who will ensure that all of their support needs are being met, whether they want to socialise but struggle, or want support getting into education or training – a visit to a hub can open many doors for them. “
The council would like to hear young people’s thoughts about the POP service. Visit POP user Survey 2024 to complete the survey.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
- Young people can self-refer or be referred by a professional to access support from POP via the POP website - popwalsall.co.uk. The website offers a service directory of numerous local and national services by theme, from healthy eating and exercise to family and community support.
- Opening times for the hubs can be found on the POP website, Facebook and Instagram, along with information on various activities and the location of the mobile hub.
- Walsall Council Public Health fund the 15-25 Health and Wellbeing Service - Positive Outcomes Project (POP) and want to hear about young people’s experiences, thoughts and opinions on the service - whether used or not. Feedback will be used as part of the evaluation of the current service and will be used to shape the future offerings for young people living in Walsall. Visit POP user Survey 2024 to complete the survey.
- Professionals and partners working with young people aged 15-25 can complete a separate survey: POP professionals Survey 2024
