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Children’s mental health workshops support Worcester Knife Angel exhibition
Worcestershire’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) have been supporting the Worcester Knife Angel exhibition with workshops themed around the 5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing for school children.
The workshops are pre-booked and will be attended by around 180 children throughout the month.
Kirsty Locker, Education Mental Health Practitioner in the CAMHS Wellbeing and Emotional Support Team said: “Research has shown that poor mental health can be one of the risk factors for youth and gang violence. Therefore, when we heard the Knife Angel statue was coming to Worcester, we wanted to get involved and help educate young people with some strategies to manage their wellbeing and feel more positive about life.
“Our team devised a workshop on the evidence-based framework of the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’: Connect, Learn, Give, Notice and Be Active. We wanted to make the session as engaging as possible for the young people, so we included a range of hands-on activities from making a stress ball to mindfulness to playing human bingo!”
The Knife Angel is a 27ft tall statue created out of 100,000 knives and blades received by 42 police forces across the UK and is being hosted in Worcester for the duration of March.
It has become recognised as a national monument against violence and aggression. The aim of the statue is to raise awareness of knife crime and how much it impacts individuals, cities, families, and communities.
With police records showing a 29% increase in knife crime across the UK since 2011, the Knife Angel encourages conversations addressing knife crime alongside a weapons amnesty.
The monument will be in Cathedral Square, Worcester City Centre for the duration of March. It is free to visit and will be supported by other workshops and interactive events in the cathedral building.
There will also be a general weapons amnesty with the approval of the West Mercia Police. A ‘surrender’ secure bin travels with the Angel for people to anonymously donate their knives for the police to securely dispose of them. This initiative is to remove as many knives as possible from the street and to deter children, young people, and adults from committing serious crimes.
For further information about mental health support for children and adolescents, please visit the CAMHS website.
If you are aged 16 or older, you can visit the Healthy Minds website for mental health support and guidance.