Mental health support and activity group The Hangout opens in Barry
25.11.2024
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is delighted to announce the opening of The Hangout in Barry, a mental health and emotional wellbeing support hub for children and young people.
The Hangout in Barry is based at 3 Tynewydd Road and is a place where people aged 11 – 18 can access mental health support, find volunteering opportunities, meet other people and get involved in groups that can boost wellbeing.
Developed in partnership with mental health charity Platfform, The Hangout offers the following support:
- Drop-in support (at any point during opening hours)
- Scheduled sessions with our wellbeing team
- Wellbeing-focused groups
- Group activity sessions
- Volunteering opportunities
It’s open from 3pm – 9pm Monday to Friday and 12pm – 6pm at the weekends and bank holidays. Children and young people are welcome to drop-in to access mental health and emotional wellbeing support or make a 1:1 appointment if they’d prefer.
The Hangout team works closely with Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health services for children and young people within Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. This means they are able to talk with other services to make sure young people receive the best support from the right people at the right time to ensure a holistic and complimentary approach to care delivered.
The Hangout in Barry has been developed in partnership with mental health charity Platfform and follows the successful launch of The Hangout in Cardiff. Since opening at 26-28 Churchill Way in October 2023, 417 young people have accessed The Hangout in Cardiff which equates to one new person every day.
Katie Simpson, Deputy General Manager for Children, Young People and Family Health Services at Cardiff and Vale UHB, said: “We are really pleased to be opening The Hangout in the Vale of Glamorgan in partnership with Platfform. By extending the service and having a second venue, more children and young people in the region will be able to access emotional wellbeing and mental health support when they need it as well as a space for peer support and connection.
“Since opening The Hangout in Cardiff, we have seen the significant positive impact the service has on children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health, and it has been amazing to see the current provision evolve because of the feedback and support from young people who have used it.
“We are grateful to Welsh Government for their support in funding the extension of The Hangout and are excited to see how the service develops and how those who use it make it a space they and other young people really value. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with children and young people and Platfform to continue to develop and improve our services, recognising we can achieve more and deliver better services if we work together.”
Sarah Hamilton, Head of Service for Children and Young People at Platfform, added: “Platfform is really excited to be able to extend The Hangout project to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan and offer the already hugely successful provision available in Cardiff.
“By building on the co-produced safe space for young people aged 11 to 18 to access drop-in wellbeing support in a local community-based location, we will enable more young people to get the support they need, when they need it.”
For more information about The Hangout, visit The Hangout - Platfform.