03.04.2023 Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre fund new Stop.Breathe.Think. initiative in Elephant & Castle to support young people and promote mental health

Real estate company Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre is providing funds to mental health charity Stop.Breathe.Think. (SBT) to launch a brand new pilot scheme to enable young people access to free online counselling sessions in the Elephant and Castle area.

With mental health services under strain from rising cases of anxiety and depression in young people, Stop.Breathe.Think. provides free counselling programs for young people in need. The charity also provides ‘wellbeing drop-in’ sessions, which are short 30-minute calls with the fully trained on-call counsellor. Funds provided by Delancey – the property company founded by Jamie Ritblat, which is overseeing the redevelopment of the new Elephant & Castle town centre and which is a long-term supporter of the charity behind this initiative – will help ensure young people, aged under 21, in the local area will have access the vital support they need.

Support is easy to access and the campaign is being promoted via a QR code on Stop.Breathe.Think. posters that can be scanned by those who require assistance. The posters will be distributed across the area, both in hard copies and digitally through newsletters, job fairs, shops, offices and hosted on the Elephant & Castle Town Centre website. The site welcomes young people to the service and provides a brief explainer video to illustrate precisely what will happen if they need support. They can then proceed to book their first session, where they will add their details, including their postcode, so operations can confirm who they are helping and where they are from.

The intake counsellor will match young people to their specific counsellor for the next 6 weekly online sessions based on their needs. Throughout the journey, wellbeing sessions and 24/7 text support will be available.

Jamie Ritblat, Founder and CEO, Delancey said: “Delancey has a long-standing relationship with the charity behind this critically needed youth mental health initiative. Over the last ten years we have supported a number of their youth programmes, but this one is particularly close to our hearts.  We know that the pressures facing young people today are getting tougher and long waiting lists for mental health support often mean that those in the most vulnerable positions in our local communities are left without adequate access to the help they need.

That’s why we’re working with Stop.Breathe.Think. to support young people in Elephant and Castle, an area we are invested in for the long-term as we help to redevelop its town centre, to make sure that the support they need is available when they need it, for free.”

Diana Barranco, Community Director, Elephant and Castle Town Centre said: “We are thrilled to be able to support the delivery of Stop.Breathe.Think’s vital service in Elephant and Castle. Their mission to support those in need by providing counselling services to young people in the local area when they need it and at such short notice is incredible.

Mental health support is crucial, and we are proud to be able to make a difference in the lives of these young people.”

Dan Charlish, Founder, Stop.Breathe.Think. said: “Since we launched Stop.Breathe.Think. during the pandemic, we have seen a continuing and growing demand for the service. The impact of covid has been huge for young people and their mental health and enabling them to get the counselling support they need, when they need it has been our goal since the outset. Support from Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre to enable us to launch our service in a targeted area of London is a fantastic step forward, and one we hope to replicate across the country. We are hugely grateful for the support.”

Share

Back to news