Mental health fund to support child refugees launches

Charities are invited to apply for a share of a £2.5m mental health fund to support refugee children from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

The funding aims to boost access to counselling and therapy for young people under the age of 21 from these countries who are now living in the UK.

It is also set to pay for English language courses, job training and higher education support, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which has launched the funding stream.

The funding can also pay for support to help children retain their cultural identity and help them integrate into their local communities.

Around 100,000 children from the three countries are set to be eligible for support through the funding.

“It’s hard to imagine the trauma some young people will have experienced fleeing conflict, war or persecution in their home countries,” said housing and communities minister Felicity Buchan.

“This funding will help young people arriving better settle into their new communities, while retaining a connection to their own culture.”

Applications close on 1 November. An online event for applicants is being staged on 6 October. Those interested are being asked to email CYPRFund@levellingup.gov.uk.

According to the Refugee Council people seeking safety in the UK “are often deeply traumatised”. Three in five asylum seekers experience “serious mental distress” and they are five times more likely to have a mental health need than the wider UK population.

The charity is accepting referrals in Kent for its My View Children’s Therapy Service for 12- to 17-year-olds. It also runs creative therapeutic groups in the county.