Significant cash win for the youth services organisations

A Midlothian charity has been given a giant financial boost after winning £750,000 to run child counselling services in the region.

Midlothian Young People’s Advice Service (MYPAS) won the tender to deliver school counselling services in every primary and high school across the area.

Counselling services in schools aims to make it quicker and easier for children and young people to access mental health support at an early stage. This funding is part of the Scottish Government’s 2018 commitment to provide £60 million in additional school counselling services across all of Scotland over four years.

MYPAS School Counselling Service operates 52 weeks of the year, including all school holidays and is delivered at times and locations to suit the needs of young people. In addition to counselling, students at all Midlothian Schools will be able to drop-in to get information about their mental health or find out different ways to get support.

Dave Evans, chief executive of MYPAS said: “I am thrilled that MYPAS has won this important tender. It means we can carry on the valuable work we started in developing the Pilot service over the last nine months and build on not only the experience gained but the strong working relationships with our partner agencies.

“This service will continue to dovetail with the wide range of services MYPAS already offers to work towards providing greater access for Midlothian’s young people to improve their health and wellbeing”.

Midlothian Council director Morag Barrow added: “Every young person deserves the right to access free mental health support at their easiest convenience and MYPAS’s highly qualified and highly experienced school-based counsellors can do this.

“Lockdown has affected young people therefore I’m delighted young people of Midlothian will have continued support from MYPAS through school counselling.”