Help and support for everyone who needs it

SOULSCAPE — aWokingham charity who support young people at school — are available to support Holt School students.

Operations manager, Michelle McLeish said: “Soulscape has offered our support to the students and staff at The Holt and will do our utmost to support them anywaywe can.

“Savannah, a local youth worker, was representing us at St Paul’s Church, offering her support and having some good conversations.

“We are in the process of creating a ‘take home’ resource for the students and staff which we hope will be helpful. And we have offered to set up a PAUSE space for reflection at the school, to help students and staff to reflect on their loss and find helpful ways to process what they are feeling and what has happened.

“We will be liaising with the school about when this would be possible and plan to set it up in a way that it is not necessary to man – following the current social distancing restrictions.

“And yesterday, some of our lovely Soulscape volunteers dropped off homemade cakes at the school to show we care and to let them know they are in the thoughts and prayers of the Wokingham Churches and wider community.”

Anyone affected by the events included in this paper is advised to contact specialist support lines.

Students and young people affected by the included events can also contact Childline, who offer confidential information, advice and support to people under 18. They can be called on 0800 1111 and messaging services are available on theirwebsite, with a number of resources: www.childline.org.uk

Support U, a Reading-based LGBTQ+ help and support service is open to anyone who has been affected by the weekend events.

Lorna McArdle, Support U CEO said: “We have put in place extra resources for anyone traumatised by the events.

“Our phone lines are open from 10am until 4pm, Monday toWednesday, and 10am until 8pm on Thursdays.

“We are also offering a chat facility on ourwebsite: www.supportu.org.uk”

To speak to someone from Support U, call: 0118 321 9111.

Other organisations to speak to include Mind, the mental health charity, and the Samaritans.

To contact Mind, ring 0300 123 3393 or visit: www.mind.org.uk/informationsupport/helplines

And to speak to someone from the Samaritans, ring 116 123, or visit: www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help