Sheffield charity supports young people to stay mentally well in isolation through Instagram

Door 43, run by charity Sheffield Futures, has a team of wellbeing practitioners that help 13-25 year olds manage their mental health from its city centre base on Division Street. Since the government implemented its new measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, the team have transformed their services and moved them temporarily online.

Rochelle Lowe, wellbeing practitioner, said: “We had to close our wellbeing cafes, where young people come together to take part in activities that support their mental health and our face to face sessions. We recognised quite quickly that we needed to put something else in place to support our service users through this strange time, as isolation is difficult for everyone, but we knew it would be particularly hard for young adults that were already struggling with issues such as anxiety, low mood and loneliness.

“Door 43 already had a presence on social media, but we decided that using these platforms would be a great way of keeping that contact going through this time.

“Each member of our team has been taking it in turns to post videos each day, focusing on different things we can all be doing to help ourselves stay well while we are social distancing. So far we’ve looked at working out indoors, setting little goals to help our motivation, and coping with uncertainty.”

As well as supporting young people through social media, the team are supporting existing service users over the phone and through livestreams.

Door43 service user Evie, aged 19, said: “I think what the Door43 team are doing on Instagram is really great and I appreciate it a lot. It's nice to have something to look at every day and still have contact with the service even if we can't see them properly. I'm very thankful for the support they’re giving me during this time.”

Service user James, aged 21, added: “Knowing that Door43 is still there and that it isn't just me that is struggling, and that everyone else is in the same boat is really helping me right now."

Follow Door43 at www.instagram/door43_/