Man City Partner With Nhs Programmes In Mental Health Initiative
Manchester City’s official charity, City in the Community (CITC), has partnered with the NHS in Greater Manchester to expand its mental health programme for children and young adults.
The news comes in Mental Health Awareness week, and will see the club support the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service to deliver ‘enhanced mental wellbeing support’ for young people aged 14 to 25 by embedding ‘Manchester Thrive’ (MThrive) into its delivery. The MThrive programme aims to support young people and families to promote good mental health and allow quicker access to specialist support if needed.
The partnership will see the charity and the NHS services work roll out a programme of mental health awareness training for CITC staff, as well as support the club foundation’s emotional health and wellbeing curriculum for the work it does in the community.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service says it also hopes to place a full-time practitioner directly within the CITC team.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the NHS and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service,” said Lisa McKay, City in the Community’s Senior Operations Officer.
“In Manchester, the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health was highlighted as a major concern amongst carers and parents.
“To help combat this, we launched a new programme earlier this year with a specific focus on harnessing the power of football to provide additional mental wellbeing awareness and support for our existing participants.
“This invaluable relationship with the NHS will enable us to build on our current curriculum and offer young people additional mental health support as soon as they need it.”
The club says that CITC’s existing mental health programme – which launched in January 2021 – has been funded by a club project to raise money for communities in which City Football Group operates. Donations from fans have been matched pound for pound by City Football Group.
The club will also launch a suite of specially adapted football sessions which feature one-to-one mentoring and group workshops on mental health awareness, to improve mental wellbeing. Sessions will continue throughout the school holidays, with the club offering both mental health support, physical activity and food provision during the summer.
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