The Hangout mental health support and activity hub for young people opens in Cardiff

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Platfform are delighted to announce the official opening of The Hangout — a mental health and emotional wellbeing support and activity hub for young people.

The Hangout has been developed in partnership with mental health charity Platfform and is a safe and alternative space for young people aged 11 to 18 experiencing challenges with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The Hangout officially opened at 26-28 Churchill Way on 15th September 2023 and will make it easier for young people to access mental health support when they need it, ranging from a one off ‘bad day’ to those who may already be accessing specialist support but require space and someone to talk to between appointments.

It is also a place where young people can meet other people, find volunteering opportunities and get involved in groups that could really boost wellbeing.

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

Operated by Platfform, 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.

Katie Simpson, Deputy General Manager for CYPFS, said: “We are so excited to finally be launching The Hangout. It is an opportunity to redefine how children and young people get mental health and emotional wellbeing support on their terms when they need it.

“Our aim is always to ensure that children and young people receive the right support at the right time in the right place and hopefully The Hangout reaffirms our commitment to deliver this.

“It’s been a fantastic journey and seeing the ideas of your young people finally come to fruition through a coproduced service is an amazing milestone. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with young people and Platfform to develop and continuously improve services.”

Siobhan Parry, Head of Service for Children and Young People at Platfform, said: “We are delighted to see The Hangout open its doors to young people across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

“We all know how important it is for young people to have someone to turn to when they are struggling and feeling alone, especially when they may not feel comfortable talking to family, friends or a medical professional. 

“We are very proud of the young people and teams who have come together to co-create this safe, welcoming and community-focused space and we will continue to build on this progress to provide the best possible future young people.”

Members of the Cardiff and Vale Health Youth Board have been integral in the development of The Hangout.

Gruff Evans said: “When the Youth Board first suggested the idea of creating a space like The Hangout we thought it was blue-sky thinking so to be here and see what has been built in collaboration with young people makes me very proud.”

Gruff Harrison added: “I’ve been part of the Youth Board for a few months now and I was given a tour of The Hangout this summer and was asked for my feedback on the environmental feel of the place. I was listened to and made to feel very welcome and my suggestions were taken on board."

Lucy Price said: “I’ve been part of the Youth Board for a few months now and it’s been a really positive experience. The team came to see us a few months ago to give us the background and asked us all for our feedback and were really open to suggestions and critique which is really important when creating a space like this. The Hangout definitely has the calming, relaxing atmosphere we were hoping for and I love that it is centred around the young person.”

Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health is a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals within Cardiff and Vale UHB who work with children and young people and their families.

The service has undergone a series of changes in recent years to streamline processes and enhance access to services. The Single Point of Access was launched in 2021 for healthcare professionals who work with children and young people and the new Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health website was launched to support children, young people and their families.

The Hangout is the latest service development and it’s expected that between 500 and 1,000 young people will use The Hangout each year to access mental health support.

For more information, visit: platfform4yp.org/hangout or cavyoungwellbeing.wales.