The partnership will see Royal Mail Group fund a new Mental Health Advisor role within The Prince’s Trust for the next three years. The role will be responsible for planning and implementing improvements to the way the youth charity supports young people with mental health issues.

At the announcement, Martina Milburn and Moya Greene were introduced to Chris Harris, the new Mental Health Advisor, alongside Prince’s Trust supported young people Efaz Ahmed, 24 from Leicester, and Gemma Ingram, 23 from Essex, who shared their experiences of how mental health impacts on young lives.

Chris said; “I’m excited to be working towards a framework at The Prince’s Trust which will ensure young people with mental health issues are automatically supported in the most appropriate way. Anyone can be affected by mental health issues and for those young people who are already vulnerable, it can make their situation even more stressful. By embedding mental health literacy in our programmes we can work with them to overcome barriers they are facing and help them move into education, work or training.”

The partnership will see frontline Trust staff receive Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training so they can address the needs of young people and offer effective support. In addition, they will be tasked with sharing best practice across the organisation and the continued building of local and national partnerships with mental health organisations and services.

Martina Milburn CBE said; “We know from our frontline staff that young people are increasingly experiencing a wide range of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, self harm and eating disorders. Our own research tells us that over 60% of young people not in education, employment or training feel nervous about meeting new people and 35% feel too anxious to leave the house . This new partnership with Royal Mail Group will allow us to improve our systems to make sure we are able to provide the best support to the young people we work with.”

Moya Greene added, “As one of the UK’s largest employers, Royal Mail understands the need for employees to feel supported in all areas of their lives – from career progression to physical and mental wellbeing. Our partnership with The Prince’s Trust builds on this experience and is set to deliver stronger support for the mental health of thousands of young people. We hope that by giving young people the support and tools they require, they will be able to gain employment and give back to the community.”

Source: Royal Mail Group