Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 07:13 am
Amidst the ‘explosion’ of mental health referrals for under 18s reported by The Guardian, Jenny Chesworth, 35, is offering a helping hand to children in the UK stuck on waiting lists and turned away from support. Having experienced anxiety since a child, Jenny founded the Be Happy Hub in 2021, a mental health resource centre, boasting fun, engaging and printable resources for children to learn about mental health and to explore their thoughts and emotions.
Jenny, who worked for a mental health charity for five years before launching the Hub and has a clinical psychologist to advise on her more support-based resources, is aiming to spread the word about her Hub to help more children in the UK. The Hub currently holds over 800 resources for children aged 0-11 and teen resources set to launch soon.
Jenny experienced her first panic attack as a child, and was never diagnosed or treated for her anxiety, leading to a break down in her late twenties. Reflecting on this, Jenny says: “I wish I had been taught these tools and techniques when I was younger. Instead, I was taken from doctor to doctor who mostly labelled me a hypochondriac. I really feel that if just one person had said, this is what is happening to you, this is why and this is what you can do, that would have been life changing.”
Jenny is now managing her anxiety and her son, Zach, 6, is thriving too. “He’s even joined a football team,” Jenny says, “That wouldn’t have been possible three years ago!”
In response to the increasing numbers of mental health referrals for children in the UK, Jenny Chesworth has founded the Be Happy Hub, a mental health resource centre for children. Through providing fun, engaging and printable resources, as well as free eGuides and resources, Jenny is aiming to help children understand their thoughts and emotions and develop coping tools. Having experienced anxiety since a child herself, Jenny understands the importance of support for children and hopes to make a difference with her Hub.
