The Go-To website proves a hit among children and young people seeking mental health support in North Yorkshire

A new website to help children and young people find help to overcome mental health challenges, is proving a hit in North Yorkshire.

The Go-To (www.thegoto.org.uk) is a portal or ‘single point of information’ for the wide range of mental health support services offered by different agencies in the county.

In the first month since its launch, more than 1,000 young people, families and professionals visited The Go-To, spending more than 2,000 minutes looking at information to support mental health.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) lead for vulnerable people, Dr Peter Billingsley, said: “With the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption it’s caused, it’s felt incredibly strange at times and the impact on our mental health should not be underestimated, particularly among children who have seen their lives turned upside down.

“It’s encouraging to see so many young people visit The Go-To and I’m sure it’s having a positive impact.”

The Go-To was developed by clinical commissioning groups in North Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire County Council and promotes services within the existing North Yorkshire County Council boundary. Young people from North Yorkshire Young Minds Combined – a group made up of members of North Yorkshire’s Youth Parliament and other youth voice groups – helped to design the new website which has sections aimed at young people, parents and carers, as well as professionals.