image courtesy of In Charley’s Memory

In Charley’s Memory is a local charity based in Highbridge, Somerset which works to support young people.

So who is Charley?

ICM gave permission for this statement to be used in this Frost Magazine article:  Charley struggled with his mental health throughout his adolescence and in 2014 it all became too much and Charley took his own life. After Charley’s death his mum wanted to do something to raise awareness and reduce the stigma that is attached to mental health. So she founded In Charley’s Memory, known locally as ICM. Charley’s friends and family began raising money and supporting young people. In Charley’s Memory received official charity status in March 2015 (registration number 1160805) and since then has moved into premises in Burnham-on-Sea, with a team of volunteers and staff. In the 4 years ICM has been established the charity has grown considerably. 

Natalie Jayne Peake talked to a representative of ICM  and learned more about the crucial help the charity provides for those in need.

Tell me about Charley, what was he like?

Charley was a loveable rogue with a really cheeky sense of humour. He was very popular at school, had a large group of friends and was mad on sports. Charley adored his family and was very protective of his mum Jo.

ICM received charity status in March 2015, what services do you offer and who can use them?

Predominantly we offer 1:1 counselling to young people 11-25, aside from this we run drop ins at schools across Somerset, this enables young people at school to come and speak to us about anything that is troubling them. If they need further support we can arrange this or signpost them. We work a lot with other organisations such as Hinkley C, (we work with their apprentices) YMCA Dulverton and Sanctuary Housing, raising awareness around mental health and mental wellbeing. We do not have specific criteria to access support at ICM. If a young person can get to our office we will offer them counselling irrespective of where in Somerset they have come from.

What does 2020 have in store for ICM?

This year we have launched our over 26’s affordable counselling programme after becoming aware that there was a lack of affordable counselling in the area. We are working with The Space in Cheddar to develop a high standard training programme that we can deliver to in schools to help parents/carers/family members who need more support or understanding of young people’s struggles.

If someone is struggling with their mental health, how can they contact you?

They can call the office, 01278557490 or if they feel uncomfortable talking to someone on the phone they can email us at enquiries@incharleysmemory.co.uk

How can people get involved with fundraising?

We run events during the year and we are always looking for volunteers to come along and help us. We are so lucky that our community supports and understands what it is we are doing, it is their fundraising efforts that have helped us keep the doors open and enabled us to grow as quickly as we have. Any one wishing to raise funds for us just needs to give us a call or email.

Tell me more about your Ambassador scheme?

It is so important to us that young people are involved in the charity, because you cannot successfully run a young persons charity without listening to the opinions of young people. So each year we have a team of ambassadors (ages 14-18) that come on board, they receive some training from us on mental health awareness and then spend 12 months helping us at events, raising awareness of the charity, and importantly giving us input on what we do and how we do it 

How can others help spread the word about ICM ?

Like our facebook page, follow us on twitter. But importantly talk about mental health, ask your friend, neighbour family member, if they are ok, we always say to people you do not need to be qualified to care about someone’s mental health, and if you find out they are not ok then please signpost them to us.

We aim to get to the kids before the kids get to crisis, so if you know a person who is just struggling or going through a difficult time at the moment they may benefit from having someone to talk to, you do not need a diagnosis to come and see a member of the team.

A link to more information: In Charley’s Memory