SANEmail Young Persons' Panel

Young Persons Panel

The Young Persons Panel (YP Panel) involves a group of 16-25 year olds in the implementation and development of SANEmail. Active participation of representatives of the service target group contributes to the service delivery and development and aims to offer those young people involved with the project, the opportunity for personal and professional development. We require candidates to be aged 25 for at least the first six months of their involvement with the Panel.

The YP Panel comprises ten core London based members who meet in person three times per year and fifteen email members, mostly based outside London, who communicate with the project via email. Core members are given the opportunity to join the email members group, as blanket emails may be sent out to the entire YP Panel on occasion for feedback and suggestions on particular issues.

SANE seeks to involve young people who are, or have been, affected by mental health issues, from a wide range of backgrounds and communities to fairly represent the service target group.

Vacancy Descriptions

Core panel members

Members meet three times each year, at SANE?s offices, so will need to be London based.
Members are contacted from time to time via email to discuss issues as they arise.
Members are expected to commit to attending three meetings and will then be welcome to attend an additional three meetings.

Email panel members

Members are mainly recruited from outside London, to represent the UK-wide service.
Members are be contacted before and after each core member meeting via email, to discuss agenda items.
Members are also contacted from time to time via email to discuss issues as they arise.
Members are expected to be available for discussion around the time of three core member meetings a year. Members will then be welcome to contribute to a further three meetings.

Bank panel members

Bank members provide cover when core and email members are unavailable. Bank members are also approached to fill vacancies on the panel as they arise.
Bank members are kept informed of panel activity through the circulation of meeting agendas and minutes.

Mutual benefits of youth participation

SANE hope that the young people involved in this project will enjoy building a mutually beneficial relationship with the organisation. The following points form the basis of the YP Panel aims and objectives:

The young people (YP) involved will develop as members of the group through their interactions with each other.
Participation will have a positive impact on the confidence of the YP involved, thus contributing to their personal development.
Involving a group of YP in the delivery of the service may assure service users that their needs are being understood and met.
Members will be able to contribute invaluable information on their experiences of mental health.
The YP Panel will be a useful means of establishing how SANE and SANEmail are perceived by YP, presenting the opportunity to challenge any negative assumptions and stereotypes surrounding mental health.
The participation of the YP, will enable us to continually improve the service, through discussion on a wide range of topics. These may include feedback on our website, identifying magazines for publicising the service, giving young people a voice through encouraging their input on the website and identifying current mental health issues and concerns within local communities.
Members will benefit from the experience of playing a role on the YP Panel and will become familiarised with standard meeting form, including agenda?s and minute taking.

Further details about the project, are outlined in the FAQ Sheet below.

If, having read all of the information, you are still interested in the project and feel that you have the necessary time and skills, please fill out the Application Form, clearly stating whether you are interested in becoming a core or email panel member. Could you please also indicate whether you are interested in the "Bank" scheme. If your application is successful, you will be asked to be available for a short telephone interview.

We hope that the YP Panel will provide an excellent opportunity for you to be involved with an important new mental health project, to meet other young people who share a similar interest and to provide you with transferable skills, which may be beneficially to your personal and professional development.

Please return the completed Application Form, Equal Opportunities Form, and Parental Permission Form (if appropriate) to the address below or email Rochelle Batten. If you have any further questions, please contact Rochelle on 020 7422 5536 or at the email address above.