The Helm Youth Network is relaunching, with a monthly safe space for young people in Kendal.
Wave Forward, Escape2Make and Brewery Arts Centre are working together on the project, which will offer 16 to 20-year-olds a new kind of support – creative, collaborative and youth-led.
It will blend free creative workshops, peer connection, mental health support and opportunities to lead real change.
The organisations said they were forming a local powerhouse alliance, combining mental health expertise, creative opportunities and community infrastructure, to provide an urgent, empowering alternative to stretched clinical services.
The Helm is back reimagined, re-energised and co-designed with young people.
Starting this summer, each Helm session will include free hands-on creative workshops from Escape2Make, beginning with Stop Motion Animation and Managing Anxiety in July, hosted at Brewery Arts Centre and delivered alongside Wave Forward’s mental health facilitators and young Wave Changers.
The monthly gatherings are designed for creating opportunities to decompress, talk honestly about the stresses young people face, explore identity challenges, tackle loneliness and better understand the huge pressure this generation is under.
Learning about mental health without the clinical feel, the Helm sessions provide a safe, inclusive space to be curious again, without being marked, graded or judged.
Director Lil May said: “We know the mental health crisis facing young people in Cumbria isn’t easing. Waiting lists are still growing and too many are left without support when they need it most.
“Often we hear that young people aren’t seeking help as they think others are in more need, only compounding issues later down the line.
“But we also know that clinical services aren’t always what Young People want. They’ve told us they need spaces that feel safe, social, creative, and most importantly co-created, not the usual ‘done to’ youth club approach.
“By bringing together the strengths of Wave Forward, Escape2Make and the Brewery Arts Centre, along with the incredible backing of the Co-op’s Gamechangers Fund, we’re building something local, powerful and urgently needed. It’s not just about delivering support, it’s about listening to Young People and changing how we, as a charity sector, deliver it.”
Alongside creative sessions, Helm members will also co-create mental health campaigns, design their own merchandise, hear from inspiring guest speakers and help to shape what youth wellbeing looks like in Cumbria. And there is also free pizza.
The first session is on Friday, July 4 from 4pm to 7pm at Brewery Arts Centre. Booking is essential, visit https://helm-workshops.raiselysite.com/
