The MGF Christmas appeal last year in support of Deck the Wards was a huge success providing gifts and home comforts for children and young people who were inpatients on CAMHS wards over Christmas.
They have chosen to support Deck the Wards again this year and we at Portrait are helping with providing inclusive and diverse books.
Its another year when many of our teens have experienced massive disruption to their education and future plans as well as having limited access to the services and people that help keep their mental health in check. Barely a week goes by without the issue of child mental health being in the news and yet it feels as hard as ever to secure timely help for those who are self-harming, have debilitating anxiety, have developed tics, are school-refusing...
Whilst MGF can't magically increase the capacity of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), what we can do is to ensure that the 12-18 year olds spending Christmas on the CAMHS wards of SE London feel noticed and cherished by people other than their families and professional carers.
There's little that feels Christmassy about teenagers on psychiatric wards. We're not going to be able to provide heart-warming photos of smiling children unwrapping gifts but every book that you donate has been requested by a teenager who is feeling anything but Christmassy.
So here's how you can help...
1. Decide how much you want to donate - we have 3 options (£6.99, £10 and £15)
2. Decide how many books you want to donate
3. Click on the link and pay via the website
4. We will sort the rest (books ordering, delivery etc)
5. Leave us a message and we will make sure it is passed on with your books.
6. Enjoy all the Christmassy feels...
