Who we are

Our Reaching Out service (previously known as Mindful) supports young people who are isolated and/or vulnerable.

Young people often come to us because they are finding it hard to engage in the important things in life like interests, education and employment, friendships and being with family. Young people may also need support in finding somewhere to live or support in engaging in the services they need.

The service covers the whole of Surrey and works across agencies to engage with, and facilitate, mental health care for young people who are hard to reach.

If you find yourself struggling or feeling distressed with your thoughts and feelings, it can be helpful to create a plan to keep yourself safe. Read about how to create your own My Safety Plan.

Our aims within the Reaching Out service include:

  • Preventing long-term mental health and emotional needs from developing
  • Supporting a young person to engage with the important things in life
  • Returning to or stay in education and employment
  • Working in partnership with other agencies to ensure that mental health and social needs are recognised and met, including housing
  • Educating and advising anyone responsible for young people about mental health issues, and services available to support them
  • Improving access to a choice of appropriate services and support young people accessing these
  • Offering support to any young person who is not already receiving support

Our service offers a flexible and friendly approach. We support the most isolated and vulnerable children and young people including those who are:

  • homeless or at risk of homelessness (ages 16 to 25)
  • not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of this (ages 16 to 25)
  • struggling with drug and alcohol difficulties (ages 16 to 25)
  • those 17/18 year olds needing support to transition out of Children’s Services to Adult Services 
  • young people known to the Youth Justice System (ages 10 to 18)
  • and those who are hard to reach and/or difficult to engage with (ages 16 to 25)

If you, or a young person you know, are feeling worried, anxious or overwhelmed, finding it hard to engage in life, concentrate at work, school, college or university, becoming isolated or experiencing changes to sleep patterns or appetite, we might be able to help. 

Our service offers a flexible and friendly approach. We recognise that everyone is different so we can help young people by offering:

  • Telephone or face-to-face discussions to help identify a person's needs
  • Mental health and risk assessments with referrals to the appropriate service or agency
  • Short to medium term one to one direct support - this can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly sessions
  • Workshops with small groups of other young people to discuss emotional and difficult issues such as self harm, substance misuse or relationships

For professionals who work with young people we can:

  • Provide advice on the most appropriate services available
  • Deliver training to raise awareness of mental health issues

Requesting support

We accept requests for support from anyone who is concerned about a young person, including police, probation and supported housing providers. We also accept requests for support from health, social care or education practitioners such as GPs or teachers.
Young people or their carers can also contact us directly to request support for themselves. Our aim is to ensure that every young person who comes to us is in contact with the right service and receives appropriate treatment and support.

We have two pathways; Assertive Engagement and Transition. Self-referrals can be found through the Assertive Engagement tab below.

We receive regular feedback that demonstrates the difference we are able to make to young people. We appreciate all feedback as it allows us to ensure we are delivering the best service possible. Please see examples of feedback received, below in the page. If you have any comments please get in touch.

  • "It's really good that these services are available for young people as they set you up for life situations and they help you deal with your feelings and behaviour"
  • "The service allowed me to open up in my own time. It really helped me see where my problems arose from and helped me find ways to deal with them effectively"

Address

18 Mole Business Park,
Randall's Road,
Leatherhead,
Surrey,
KT22 7AD

Telephone

01932 587077

Opening times

  • Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
  • The service can be flexible, if necessary, to meet the needs of young people

Contact names

  • Service Manager: Christine Gee

Out of hours contact

For under 18s

To access support from this service, a professional must create a request for support. If you are a professional, visit the request support page to find out more information on how to do this.

Outside of these times, if the young person is over 11 years old, we would encourage them or their family to contact our Extended Hope service via the Emergency Duty Team on 01483 517898, between 5pm to 11pm, 7 days a week. 

They can also call our 24/7 crisis line on 0800 915 4644.

For over 18s

  • Elmbridge
  • Epsom and Ewell
  • Guildford
  • Mole Valley
  • Reigate and Banstead
  • Runnymede
  • Rushmoor
  • Spelthorne
  • Surrey Heath
  • Tandridge
  • Waverley
  • Woking

As well as emotional or mental health vulnerability the young people we work with often have other problems such as drug and alcohol misuse or homelessness, which require input from several agencies.

Working in partnership is central to what we do and helps us act in the best interests of young people.

  • Catch22:  Surrey Young People’s Substance Misuse Service (SYPSMS) is a county-wide specialist treatment service for young people aged up to 25. It offers free and confidential advice and support.
  • Kooth.com: Online support for young people 
  • YMCA East Surrey: A vibrant, local charity that helps vulnerable children, young people and adults to belong, contribute and thrive. The wide range of projects and activities aim to help create happy, healthy and connected communities in East Surrey.