Jewish Care is pleased to announce the expansion of Jami’s Children and Young Person’s Service. The growth of the service will have a positive impact in responding to the increasing numbers of young people in the community who are experiencing mental illness and distress.
The Dangoor family, through the Exilarch’s Foundation, have generously agreed to donate a principal multi-year grant towards the expansion of Jami’s Children and Young Person’s service. To honour this exceptional contribution, the service will be renamed The Dangoor Children and Young Person’s Service. The Exilarch’s Foundation, established by Sir Naim Dangoor and now led by his sons David, Michael, and Elie Dangoor, is dedicated to supporting meaningful causes. In memory of their brother, Robert D. S. Dangoor, who sadly passed away in 2022, the family has chosen to make a lasting, positive impact by supporting children and young people struggling with mental illness.
The initiative, aimed at increasing the number of children and young people supported by the service over the next five years, will combine professional mental health support, evidence-based talking therapies, and a more streamlined referral process. The goal is to offer tailored, accessible care that will ensure a brighter future for those facing mental health challenges.
This comes at a time when one in five children and young people has a probable mental health disorder and the country’s mental health services are extremely under-resourced.
The current dedicated multi-skilled team for the Children and Young Person’s Service, comprises social workers, mental health practitioners and mental health support workers, offering ongoing tailored one-to-one support geared specifically to young people aged 11—18. This runs as a referrals service for children and young people in the community as well as providing vital support at JCoSS since 2022, and at JFS since April 2023.
“We are deeply grateful to the Dangoor family for their generous gift towards the expansion of our Children and Young Person’s Service, enabling us to reach more children and young people who are living with mental health difficulties,” says Jewish Care CEO, Daniel Carmel-Brown. “The expansion of this service will make a real difference to many more families at a time when the need for support is growing in our community.”
Louise Kermode, Director of Community Mental Health Services at Jami, now part of Jewish Care, says, “We are immensely grateful to the Dangoor family for their special commitment towards our services. It is more important than ever for us to provide this specialist service to as many secondary-school-aged children as possible in our community, filling a vital gap between the growing numbers of young people struggling with their mental health and the lack of mental health services currently available to them.
“This expansion marks a critical milestone in our mission to provide accessible, professional mental health services, and we are excited to witness the positive impact it will have on the lives of young people across the community.”
The one-to-one sessions are very client-centred. Members of the team discuss a variety of concerns and agree on goals to work on with the young person – for example, coping strategies to manage anxiety and depression and to improve self-esteem.
By building on Jami’s existing model, this new phase of support aims to foster a sense of belonging and resilience among young people, helping them navigate and manage mental health challenges with confidence and care.
Thirteen-year-old Amy currently benefits from support in her fortnightly sessions with Ciara, who finds different ways to help Amy manage her anxiety, including breathing exercises and distraction techniques. They have also been looking at establishing a better bedtime routine for Amy as sleep hygiene impacts mood and energy levels. Amy believes the sessions are really helping her and have made a noticeable improvement in how she feels. “I am more confident and have more trust in people now,” she says. “The support from Jami really means a lot.”
For further information or to learn more about Jami’s Dangoor Children and Young Person’s Service, please visit jamiuk.org/dangoor-cyp or call Jami on 020 8458 2223.