Project helps young self-harmers

The project aims to help hundreds of youngsters who self harm

A new service to help young people who self-harm in Wrexham has been launched with £977,333 of lottery funding.

The Inspire project - believed to be a first for Wales - will be based at Wrexham's Maelor Hospital but will also be available to 11 to 18-year-olds from Flintshire and Denbighshire.

The five-year scheme will aim to help around 400 youngsters who self-harm.

Staff will offer non-medical help on maintaining family links and obtaining advice on employment and housing.

The scheme is paid for by Big Lottery Funding, which hands out Lotto money for good causes.

Organisers said they were unaware of other similar hospital-based schemes being run elsewhere in Wales.

Coping

A team of six medical staff will begin work in the New Year, and will provide help to self-harmers in hospital, and for up to eight weeks after they are discharged.

The team also hopes to provide general support to young people in hospital.

The scheme - a joint initiative between the council and the North East Wales NHS Trust - was announced by Wrexham council leader Aled Roberts on Tuesday.

He said: "It became apparent quite quickly that there was a need locally and nationally for this type of service to support young people who faced a difficult time in their lives."

Project manager Sarah O'Connell Jones said: "The project will increase coping skills, provide diversionary activities and support the non-medical needs of the young people's emotional development by offering one-to-one work, group work and linking them to mainstream and specialist services."