Lighthouse for Perth presented with £5403

Over October and November 2023, the Cross Tay Link Road Project team adopted The Lighthouse for Perth as their chosen charity, raising a total of £5,403.02.

Innes Mackintosh, Community Benefit Manager for BAM UK & Ireland, commented, “I cannot express in words how privileged we have been to work with this incredible charity. The Lighthouse in Perth provides a life-saving service for some of the area’s most vulnerable young people, and without them, many families would be living with the devastating loss of a child to suicide.”

Sharon Thomas, Operations Manager for the Lighthouse Perth commented, “We have seen a 100% increase in our services over the past 2 years, and the simple fact is that we need more staff, and we need more money.

“This money will provide us with the means to supply school outreach for one school for one full year. This is a crucial element of our service – so much so, that we have recently extended it from rural schools into central Perth. It reduces disruption for the young person and their family, and offers a response on the day, in school, if and when needed.”

Ross Fletcher, Senior Engineer for PKC commented, “Through the Cross Tay Link Road Project Charter we are committed to delivering social value that will leave a meaningful legacy past the life of the build. Presenting Sharon and her team with this cheque, has allowed us to do exactly that, and I would like to thank everyone who donated via our community open day and online auction.”

You can reach the freephone crisis line on 0800 121 4820, Facebook messenger, or email [email protected]. You can also visit their website www.lighthouseforperth.org.

• Face-Face Safe Space Support – 5 days a week, Monday to Friday
• Crisis Line Support – 7 days a week to 10pm

If you would like to donate to Lighthouse in Perth you can do so via the support page on their website or through “The Lighthouse for Perth” JustGiving page.

We caught up with Sharon, to find out more about the project and what this money will allow them to do.

How and when did the Lighthouse for Perth start?

ST: “The Lighthouse Project in Perth was set up in 2015 by Tracy McNab, in memory of local Perth girl, Jodie McNab, following her tragic death. The initial aim was to raise funds and awareness to tackle suicide and self-harm for young people aged 12+.

“The long-term vision, though, was to set up a crisis line and safe space service to provide immediate and ongoing support to young people at risk of taking their own lives, and their families. This was launched in January 2020, just a few weeks before the devastation of lockdown and Covid-19 began.

“Thankfully, our Crisis Phone Line had been launched in early March and as an essential service we were permitted to continue and were able to launch our face-to-face support. Over the months that followed, we realised just how desperately our service had been needed - and that what we were seeing was just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, we are still seeing the backlash of lockdown now.”

How has demand for the service grown?

ST: “It is important to recognise that suicide is a real and immediate threat to our young people.

“The mental health crisis in teenagers continues to grow, and the adolescent brain has a predisposal to impulse. When you mix these facts with the constant strain of social media, the loss of resilience due to lockdown, and access to content that previous generations have never had to deal with, it is frighteningly easy to see why suicide has become an option for young people.

“Almost four years on from the service launch, and we’ve continued to grow steadily both in terms of the team and our services. We now have seven staff in total, 2 counsellors and 5 mental health support workers; and as well as the Crisis Line and Safe Space, we have developed a schools’ outreach project with peer-to-peer support offered via a team of pupil Mental Health Ambassadors. This is proving to be extremely successful, with young people more likely to open up to a friend or peer first.

“From a blank canvas four years ago, we currently have 135 young people in our care, who are offered weekly appointments for support following a referral, or sadly, a crisis level incident. In addition to this, we have worked with over 700 more who have signed off and gone on to lead happy lives.”

How long does a young person and their family stay in your care?

ST: “If the young person wants their family to be involved then we’d have an initial discussion with everyone present. We aim to support parents and to give them the tools they require to help their child. This is hugely important as a supportive family can make a big difference to recovery.

“However, young people are entitled to confidential conversations over the age of twelve and they can, if they choose, talk to us without their family being present.

“From here, most young people will choose to visit weekly for around eight to ten weeks. In that time, they will learn how to cope better, how to deal with their mental health and thoughts, and how to plan for their own safety.”

If a young person, or their family member is concerned they are at risk of harming themselves, how do they get in touch?

ST: “One of the first challenges we had to address was in removing the barriers to access help. As such, we have developed multiple means of contact and referral. Referrals from schools, GPs, and parents as well as self-directed referrals are all accepted. And of course, referral via the Mental Health Ambassador Teams in schools is there too.

“The phone line continues to run, and young people can email or message via the website and social media. We are also open to young people arriving at the service in person and have found many want to do this with a friend for support.

“Unfortunately, it is still the case that many young people reach our service following a rapid response call.

“We have handled 45 rapid response calls in the past 12 months, where children have a suicide plan and the means to carry it out. We have talked children as young as 12 down from crisis situations or discovered life threatening supplies of pills on their person. This crisis is real and happening now.

“In these situations, we will leave meetings, deadlines, and all other work behind, to attend. To my mind if a child is in crisis, you can’t put them on a waiting list.”

You can reach the freephone crisis line on 0800 121 4820, Facebook messenger, or email [email protected]. You can also visit their website www.lighthouseforperth.org.

• Face-Face Safe Space Support – 5 days a week, Monday to Friday
• Crisis Line Support – 7 days a week to 10pm

If you would like to donate to Lighthouse in Perth you can do so via the support page on their website or through “The Lighthouse for Perth” JustGiving page.