Did you know that 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14?
We did, and therefore we created our Girls Who Skate project.
The Girls Who Skate project was a 35-week programme that supported young females and non-binary individuals with talking therapy session and a positive outlet; skateboarding.
Each 3-hour session, led by a mental health first aider, implemented mental health resources and techniques to upskill and teach young individuals to identify and care for their mental health. Important skills such as breathing mechanisms, journaling, meditation and positive language were some of the topics taught. These sessions created a safe space for individuals to share and delve into topical conversations such as home pressures, bullying, sexuality, religion and more.
The second half each session focused on the young people learning how to skateboard, this developed from learning to ride and switch, to drop ins, doing a tick turn and learning how to ollie. The skateboarding was an integral part of allowing young people to push their boundaries and blow off some steam.
The project also gave these young people a platform and voice to become change-makers as they designed a campaign advocating justice for Child Q, creating posters and information leaflets to distribute to the local community leaders.
As the project came to an end, we celebrated, collaborated and even went to the theatre to watch Romeo & Juliet and attended the England vs Germany womans Euro match!