A NEW £200,000 project to help improve the lives of people with significant mental ill-health has been launched in North Yorkshire.

Advice sessions, specialist workshops and outreach support are among different measures to be offered through grants aimed at providing extra choice and control over care.

Art and music therapy, wellbeing photography classes and dedicated support for carers are also planned for residents in the Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale areas.

Project funding has been provided by North Yorkshire and York Community Mental Health Transformation Programme (CMHT), through the Access and Connect Fund, with support from North Yorkshire County Council’s Stronger Communities.

David Kerr, CMHT and programme delivery lead at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The funding is designed to enable people with, or at risk of, a serious mental illness, to access information and support. We are delighted to support this.”

Local voluntary groups, community organisations and wellbeing specialists were offered the chance to apply for grants of up to £30,000 through the project.

Other organisations to be awarded a grant include Kick Rexi Out – a support group for North Yorkshire families managing life with a child with an eating disorder.

Donna and Paul Foster set up the group after one of their children was diagnosed with anorexia last year – and now offer practical help to others in the same situation.