We are excited to announce that Off The Record Youth Counselling Croydon has won a 2019 GSK Impact Award!

The GSK IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with The King’s Fund, are a national programme that recognise and reward small and medium sized charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing in communities across the UK.

We are one of 10 winners to receive this prestigious award and thrilled that it coincides with our 25th anniversary celebration.

The award is a tribute to all the young people who have trusted us to support them in their lives and to all the staff who have worked tirelessly for the charity over the last 25 years.

As one of the winners. we will receive £30,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by The King’s Fund.

We welcome the support and funding we will receive from this award and will continue to work alongside local communities to reach out to young people.

NEWS RELEASE

Off the Record Youth Counselling, a charity which helps young people in South London, has been selected from more than 370 organisations across the UK as one of 10 winners of the 2019 GSK IMPACT Awards.

The GSK IMPACT Awards are a national programme that recognise and reward small and medium sized charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing in communities across the UK. Winners will receive £30,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by The King’s Fund.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Off the Record's vision is "Bringing an end to mental health misery for children and young people in South London". They provide free, professional counselling and support to young people in Croydon, Sutton and Merton. NHS statistics have shown that one in five young people wait for more than six months for contact with a mental health specialist, meaning that the charity’s easy access, self-referral services offer an important alternative.

The charity has worked hard to offer bespoke services in response to the different needs across the three boroughs. For example, in Croydon it works with the borough’s Gangs Team and local professionals and community groups to support young people following a violent or sudden death. In Sutton, it works with statutory and voluntary sector partners within Sutton Alliance to offer targeted support around particular issues such as exam stress, especially during summer exam periods when stress and anxiety are heightened. In Merton, it has just been awarded a new health contract to greatly expand its services. It supports young carers, refugees and asylum seekers and has specific programmes to tackle the challenges of BAME communities in accessing mental health support.

Merton and Croydon both have a higher rate of child mental health admissions than the London average and Sutton has a higher rate of self-harm than neighbouring boroughs. Croydon also has high numbers of Looked After Children including, in 2017, the second highest number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in the UK. Off the Record runs face-to-face counselling services across all three boroughs, and last year received over 1,200 referrals and offered over 7,000 sessions. It has also developed an online platform to help young people who aren’t comfortable with speaking to someone directly or need faster access, which had 261 new registrations last year and delivered nearly 1,000 sessions.

Karen Stott, Director of Off the Record, said:

“We are delighted to have been given this prestigious award and pleased that it coincides with our 25th anniversary celebrations. The award is a tribute to all the young people who have trusted us to support them in their lives and to all the staff who have worked tirelessly for the charity over the last 25 years. Times are tough for young people in South London and Off the Record will continue to work alongside local communities to reach out to young people in need.”

Lisa Weaks, Head of Third Sector at The King’s Fund, said:

“Off the Record has found new and innovative ways to connect with young people and provide urgently-needed support. By listening to young people, working with community groups and identifying the barriers that might stop young people from getting mental health care, Off the Record has been able to help children and young people to prevent crises.”

Developing leaders in the charity sector is a key aim of the GSK IMPACT Awards programme. All winners will be invited to take part in a tailored leadership development programme provided by The King’s Fund. They will also be invited to join the GSK IMPACT Awards Network, a national network of over 80 previous award winners working together to develop leaders, find new ways of working, and provide mutual support. 

Off the Record will receive their award at a ceremony held at the Science Museum in London in May, along with nine other 2019 GSK IMPACT Award winners.

To find out more about Off the Record’s work or to get help, visit www.talkofftherecord.org

ENDS

Notes to editors:

GSK IMPACT Awards

The GSK IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with The King’s Fund, are designed to recognise the outstanding work of community-based health care charities. For more information visit www.uk.gsk.com/gskimpactawards

The awards are open to charities working in health and wellbeing with an annual income of between £80,000 and £2.5 million that are at least three years old. The name ‘IMPACT’ derives from the criteria that winners must have demonstrated in their application submissions: Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community Focus and Targeting Need. For more information visit www.kingsfund.org.uk/gskimpactawards 

This year £337,000 in prize money will be awarded to UK charities through the GSK IMPACT Awards. There are ten winners that each receive £30,000, and nine runner-up organisations that each receive £3,000. An overall winner will be awarded an additional £10,000 at the award ceremony at The Science Museum in London on Thursday 16 May 2019.