Big Hearts announce the return of ‘That’s me’, young people’s mental health project

Big Hearts announce the return of ‘That’s me’, young people’s mental health project

EFDN Member Big Hearts Community Trust, the official charity of Scottish Heart of Midlothian FC announce the return of That’s Me! with weekly wellbeing sessions for teenagers and young adults starting from Thursday 2nd September.  

That’s me! aims to support young people aged 12 to 18 who need some extra support in dealing with transitions into adult life. The project is designed around the young person’s needs, with individual guidance provided on various challenges which can include drug and alcohol misuse, sexual health, relationships, return to school, anxiety or bullying. 

The project was set up by Big Hearts late in 2019, with the support from Tiny Changes, to fill a gap in mental health support services for young people aged 12+ and particularly those attending our Kinship Care After School Club.

After a successful pilot period, with over 25 individuals benefiting from one-to-one advice and group activities so far, the charity is delighted to be welcoming new referrals to join the project from September 2021. A fantastic opportunity for young people to socialise, meet new friends and be themselves without any judgement. That’s Me! offers one-to-one advice including home visits from Big Hearts’ Youth Worker as well as group activities.

Since January 2020 That’s Me! has supported 25 young people, providing an average of over 10 hours a week of one-to-one advice. The charity has helped young school leavers going to college, young people recovering from addictions and provided opportunities for young people to volunteer at some of the Big Hearts programmes.

Case study

“We got involved with Big Hearts after a very distressing 2 years. My son was diagnosed with autism, a significant language disability and social communication difficulties. When he got to the middle of High School, it was too overwhelming for him and he started refusing to go. This was accompanied by self-harming behaviour and sometimes suicidal ideation.

The school was very worried for him and thought we would benefit from specific input from Big Hearts’ That’s Me! project. The Big Herts Youth Worker built up an amazing relationship with my son, who sometimes could not leave his bed, by coming to the house 2/3 times a week, early in the morning to accommodate my son to school. Many times, my son was avoidant so it required much patience and perseverance. As a result, my son’s attendance at school was 94% in 5/6 year to the delight of school.

That’s me! is funded by The City of Edinburgh Council via their Children and young people mental health fund, the Mental Health Foundation, the National Lottery Community Fund and the RS Macdonald Trust.