Croydon's mental health services for young people are set to receive a significant boost, with the Croydon Mental Health Alliance securing a £994,000 grant to tackle waiting lists and delays in service access. The funding, provided by the Maudsley Charity, will support the alliance in developing a new model of mental health support for young people aged 10-19 in the borough.
Steve Phaure from Croydon Voluntary Action (CVA) explained that the new funding and model aims to address the challenges of young people on waiting lists, not meeting thresholds, and experiencing delays in accessing services. He stated, I haven't got the stats at my fingertips, but the numbers of young people still on waiting lists, not meeting thresholds. And then when they actually get the being referred here and there so that they don't sometimes get services for well over six months with tragic outcomes.
The announcement was made during a meeting of the Croydon Health & Wellbeing Board on Wednesday 15 October 2025, where board members discussed various mental health initiatives and ratified the Better Care Fund Quarter 1 Submission.
Mr. Phaure highlighted the importance of the funding for the Croydon Mental Health Alliance, stating that it will enable the three biggest mental health providers in the borough – Mind in Croydon, Croydon Drop-In, and Off the Record – to work alongside youth organisations such as Palace for Life Foundation, Be Inspired, and Reaching Higher. This collaborative effort aims to provide rapid response services to young people in need. The 'rapid response project' is expected to go live around January or February.
What we've done is put together what we call a rapid response project,
said Mr. Phaure. We're speaking with CAMHS about how we align it with their teams. We're talking to the mental health support teams. And we are a community partnership...
The new model of mental health support will offer a rapid response service
that includes:
- One-to-one mentoring relationships established within three days of a young person seeking support.
- Mentoring relationships lasting up to 20 weeks.
- Screening and triaging to connect young people with longer-term support structures, such as employment support or arts and sports projects.
The 'rapid response project' will operate with rapid responders based in six organisations. Young people can access the project by coming to these organizations. The rapid responders will establish a one-to-one mentoring relationship with the young people within three days. After that, there'll be a one-to-one mentoring relationship for up to 20 weeks. Then they'll be looking at the screening and triaging, which will mean those young people being placed in longer-term support structures.