East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) Community Fund is helping to support mental health sessions for young adults in Mansfield and Nottingham.

The fund, which supports communities and organisations along the routes that EMR serve, has granted £9,200 to the Wolfpack Project – Nottingham’s only youth organisation dedicated to reducing loneliness and promoting positive mental health among people aged 16-35.

The money will be used to run ‘Soft Skills for Mental Health’ sessions in two locations in Mansfield and Nottingham. The sessions help participants to build bonds and create a social support network they can rely on.
The Wolfpack Project takes into consideration the challenges facing people to attend the sessions, and works hard to ensure that they are accessible to everyone, including disabled people, ethnic minorities, people with lived experience of homelessness, people from the LGBT+ community, refugees and asylum seekers.

Damien Reynolds, Chief Executive of Wolfpack, said: “We would like to thank EMR for this vital funding. “It will enable us to provide important support to communities that often find it hard to access mental health services.

“Whether they are experiencing bereavement or separation in their family, feeling anxious about how they look or what their future holds in an increasingly uncertain world, this funding will help us to offer young adults the direction and support they need, when they need it.”

Kaye Robinson, Community Engagement Manager at East Midlands Railway, said: “Long-term isolation and chronic loneliness can have a profound physical and psychological effect on young people and their mental health.

“The Wolfpack Project does vital work in this area and we are delighted to support it through our Community Fund.”