Charity and theatre promote mental health scheme

The award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen explores themes of isolation, connection and the desire to be accepted, topics that resonate with many young people

A charity is to work with a theatre to raise awareness of its mental health initiatives when an award-winning musical which tackles similar issues arrives at the venue.

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre will help Buckinghamshire Mind promote its Peer Support in Schools scheme, which supports young people to become mental health ambassadors.

Volunteers will promote the service during the run of Dear Evan Hansen, a tragi-comic musical about a high school student with social anxiety.

The charity said it hoped the association with something "so popular" would "flag to schools that it is a way that they can support their students".

Buckinghamshire Minds' peer support scheme trains volunteers in Years 5 and 6 and sixth formers as peer mentors to support fellow students with their mental health

Prevention services manager, Huw Tarry, said that in 2017 about one in nine young people were struggling with a mental health problem and the most recent statistics have it now at one in five with about 50% of referrals related to anxiety.

He said the reasons for this were varied but cites the impact of Covid 19 and "the whole lockdown scenario" plus social media, including both cyber bullying and the way apps were designed to keep people using them.

The charity's peer support scheme trains volunteers in Years 5 and 6 and sixth formers as peer mentors to support fellow students with their mental health.

They learn how to look after their own mental wellbeing, about safeguarding and to be a listening ear for their peers, promoting self confidence and awareness of when and how to get help.

Actor Tom Dickerson (left), plays Jared, the reluctant friend of Evan, played by Ryan Kopel, and advises him but "not always in the right way".

Mr Tarry said in the past two years it had trained about 1,400 peer mentors across 50 to 60 schools in Buckinghamshire and East Berkshire.

"If each one of them is helping one, two, three or four peers a year, that's a number in the 1,000s that they're able to be a listening ear for," he said.

"[Older] children get to make a really positive contribution to the younger kids in school, helping them to feel safe and heard, and giving them another way to seek support if they need it."

He added that the scheme was also about "creating a legacy of young people with those skills who can then carry that forward throughout their lives".

Tom Dickerson said the cast has had training in how to support people who reach out to them for help

Dear Evan Hansen, which is at the Waterside in June, tells the story of Evan, who inadvertently becomes a hero after a tragic event involving a classmate, but it is all based on a lie. It explores themes of isolation, connection and the desire to be accepted, topics that resonate with many young people.

During the run, Bucks Mind volunteers will provide information about their service alongside a tour-wide partnership with The Mix, a charity for under 25 year-olds which helps youngsters "navigate life confidently".

Actor Tom Dickerson, plays Evan's reluctant friend Jared, who advises him but "not always in the right way".

He said the peer support scheme was an ideal one for the musical to partner with as audiences "really connect" with the production.

Support information

"Evan is somebody who has anxiety and makes all these wrong choices and is influenced by other people to make those wrong choices," he said. "And it all comes crumbling down.

"There are often people at the stage door who relate to the feelings in the show… and we get direct messages on social media.

"As performers, we aren't the people to help them, but we can point them in the right direction of where they can get help and support... it's about hearing them out."

The cast has had training in how to deal with those who reach out and there is information by every stage door that they can give to people who might need support.

"It is good to be able to point them in the direction of the right resources," he said.

One could argue that a peer support scheme at Evan and Jared's school would have helped.

Dickerson said: "To have champions who can be like, 'hey, I know you're feeling these feelings, and that's completely OK. Here's some ways you can learn to deal with it' is a great thing."