Six ambassadors from MindMate have been turned into digital caricatures of themselves and will feature on filters within the popular Snapchat photo messaging app.
The filters are being promoted at various events and locations in Leeds in the coming months including university open days, festivals, concerts and sporting events.
Ten different filters have been designed, each featuring a caricature of one of the ambassadors as well as details signposting young people to further information and support.
The MindMate website has been developed by NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) as part of the ‘Future in Mind: Leeds’ strategy to improve the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people across the city.
Dr Jane Mischenko, Commissioning Lead for Children & Maternity Services at NHS Leeds CCG said: “We are utilising a range of tactics and resources to reach out to young people in the city to make them aware of the help available through MindMate. Mental health and wellbeing is an important subject for children and young people, and our aim is to signpost them to MindMate which they can use for support and advice when the time suits them.
“Reaching young people isn’t the easiest of tasks, so we are using a mix of digital, social and more traditional tactics – Snapchat is hugely popular with our target audience and it’s great to have our ambassadors starring on the filters. We will be promoting MindMate across the city, this includes going to a number of roadshows and events, and we will be promoting our Snapchat filters at these events to ensure we can reach as many young people as possible.”
The Snapchat campaign is the latest in a series of digital initiatives being used by NHS Leeds CCG to increase awareness of the resources available to young people in the Leeds region.
The MindMate website (www.mindmate.org.uk) was developed in consultation with young people in the city, their families and care professionals – it features real stories, advice from our ambassadors, top tips, games and resources.
