Opening Doors 2023 - Helping More Teens & Parents

Aim: A local community project - based in Milford, Godalming - supporting young people who are struggling with anxiety and mental health issues.

Who are we?

The Green Hub Project for Teens is a local community project - based in Milford, Godalming - supporting young people who are struggling with anxiety, emotional and mental health issues through social and therapeutic horticulture. 

At the heart of the project is our beautiful, walled garden in Milford where we host groups of teens each weekend, 12 months of the year.

In 2023 we want to raise £3000 so that we can open our doors even wider by …

• Helping teens who are not engaged with school (mid week)
• Helping pre-teens (11-12) who are experiencing anxiety
• And by supporting parents who are struggling with the complexity of supporting and communicating with their children, who are experiencing anxiety and trauma

Community impact

In the last few years there has been a dramatic rise in hospital admissions of teenagers struggling with anxiety, suicidal thoughts, serious self-harm, anorexia and much more.

• 1 in 8 have diagnosable mental health disorder
• 1 in 6 (16-24) show symptoms such as depression or anxiety
• 50% mental health problems manifest by age 14
• And 75% by age 24

It is clear that this problem is not going away and is damaging more and more of our children’s lives and in some tragic cases destroying them. The NHS mental health services for teenagers and children, despite being staffed by wonderful, committed people, simply can’t keep up – they are overwhelmed. The waiting lists for help are months long, leaving struggling teenagers and their desperately worried parents with no where to go.

Although the Green Hub can’t provide medical care it can provide a safe haven of peace and calm where anxious teenagers can go. Working outside in nature is proven to raise levels of ‘happiness hormones’ and these teenagers  can be part of a worthwhile project which gives a sense of achievement.

We know our approach works ... see our parent and teen stories here>>

How we’ll spend the money raised

In order to extend our services in 2023, we need to recruit and train more adult volunteers (paying for DBS security checks, safeguarding training, first aid courses and so forth). We also want to set up a regular support group for parents, which will incur costs for a private and confidential venue, plus fees for a professional facilitator to offer guidance and advice. Your help with this will be invaluable.

We have been overwhelmed by the support of the local community since we began just 18 months ago. We have realised that our message touches a nerve with so many who have experienced mental health issues, either directly or indirectly. Crowdfunding seems a natural source for us to tap in to.