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Natural cheese slice brand Leerdammer has launched a new initiative, "Talk It Out", in support of YoungMinds. The new mental health programme will use comedy to help parents and young people to get talking and have better conversations about mental wellbeing.

Research shows that three-quarters (76 per cent) of parents said their children’s mental health had deteriorated while waiting for support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

To launch Talk It Out, award-winning Bristol born comedian Stuart Goldsmith performed a one-off special stand-up gig at the Bristol Grammar School on 13 January. Encouraging students and parents to tackle talking about mental wellbeing through humour, attendees were also signposted to the expert support, advice and guidance that YoungMinds offers.

Lactalis UK & Ireland hope to roll the initiative out across the UK later in the year, to reach and support even more families in need.

“We have developed an initiative that we hope will really have a positive impact on young people’s mental health but also, importantly, raise awareness of YoungMinds so they can guide parents and their children towards accessing better mental health care," said Heloise Le Norcy-Trott, Group Marketing Director at Lactalis UK & Ireland.

"Leerdammer is an uplifting and comedic brand, so we were motivated to tap into our unique personality with a partnership that would really make a difference among local communities. It’s clear that talking about mental health can be hard, but humour is a great way of initiating a conversation about difficult subjects which are often avoided by families. We hope by using Leedammer to support YoungMinds – and by bringing comedians in to speak to the students – they and their parents will see how essential it is to start these conversations and realise there is support out there available to them.

“We are piloting the idea this month, then aiming to roll this out across the UK later in the year so we can reach and support even more families in need. We are always looking at ways to strengthen our positive impact across the UK and are grateful to Stuart Goldsmith for taking time to help spread the word.”

Vernon Samuels, Parent Engagement Officer at YoungMinds said: “We are delighted that Leerdammer is bringing attention to YoungMinds services in this way and helping to open up the conversation about children and young people’s mental health through “Talk it Out”. Our Parent Engagement Officer in Bristol will be providing community outreach and parent / carer engagement sessions to create a safe space for parents to get peer support, and this initiative will help us reach more people who need YoungMinds’ support.”