New young person's trauma keyring launched by Healthwatch Essex
The keyring aims to direct professionals to advice and information about trauma and distress
A new young person's trauma keyring has been launched by Healthwatch Essex.
The group worked alongside young people across Essex to create a discreet keyring that helps to make others aware of what a person is going through.
It aims to provide professionals, like teachers and doctors, with advice and information about trauma and distress.
The key ring features a QR code, that directs people to a website which provides further assistance.
The purpose of the key ring, according to Healthwatch Essex, is to be discreet yet empowering for young people.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio Essex News, Sharon Westfield de Cortez, Information and Guidance Manager, said that they asked young people what resource they wanted.
"So in asking young people what it was that they wanted at first, I thought they're going to want an app because we live in a really technological world now.
"But really quickly, what they were saying was all of our stresses, and our hassles, and our worries come from our phones.
"We don't want, if we're upset about something, the minute we open our phone, there's loads of notifications. It makes us even more stressed.
"So we want something actually physical. So we talked about a few different options and what they came up with was this key ring.
"Because what was really important to young people is that their resource is invisible. They didn't want anything that would be noticeable and that would make them stand out.
"It literally just looks like a leather clip that you would get on a coat or a bag. So a young person can wear it, they're in no danger.
"And nobody will know it's there. But they do. So it's kind of a safety net for them in that respect. But if they do get into a situation, whether it's school and college or maybe it's a doctor's, a dentist's appointment, where their experiences do trigger them, it's very difficult for anyone to say, actually, I'm a trauma survivor. And right now, this is difficult.
"But the key ring will do that for them. They can just unclip it, show it to the professional and there's a QR code on there, which they scan and then that will speak.
"It will take them to a web page, which basically says what trauma is, what's likely to be happening for this young person right now, and what, most importantly, the professional can do to make things better for them by means of understanding, facilitating a better environment and getting the outcomes that they both need.
The keyring is available for free, and without additional questions. Sharon said that this was "absolutely crucial."
"One of the worst things for trauma survivors, and it's often very well meaning from other members of the public or professionals, is that the first question they'll ask is, well, what's happened to you. But actually that's really triggering and re traumatising. "
She said that the resource is for any young person that needs it:
"Any young person that thinks that they might benefit from this, just to reassure them that if they go onto the websites or they can call or e-mail if they prefer, but literally they don't have to talk to any of us if they don't want to, they can just put in an address, get it posted there, that's all they will receive just the keyring.
"It's about empowering them and helping them as a tool going forward, so it's free, nothing to worry about if you want it. If you think it will benefit you, please get in touch and get yourself one and let us know how it goes."
The keyring is available from their website.