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'Kindness should be a staple in everybody's lives'

Sarah Barker Ines and Sabela look at the camera holding up several letters. Both girls have glasses and brown hair.Sarah Barker
Ines (L) and Sabela (R) have been writing letters to children in Selby

Spanish school pupils have been helping support children and young people using mental health services in North Yorkshire by sending "positive" letters to remind them "they are not alone".

Ines and Sabela, both 14, are among a group of pupils from Valencia who have been writing to people receiving help from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMs) service in Selby.

The pair said they hoped to spread messages of hope to people who may not be feeling their best over the Christmas period.

Their teacher, Sarah Parker, said she had set up the letter writing group "to spread positivity".

Speaking to BBC Radio York, Ines said the letters "included some positive notes" and "a story about ourselves, to help people empathise."

Meanwhile, Sabela said she "always thought kindness should be a staple in everybody's lives".

She said: "We all hope that they know that they are not alone and times can be really tough sometimes but, hopefully, they make it out and it's just a small part of their life and it will get better."

'Spread positivity'

Ms Parker said she started the correspondence club at the school because she had a love for letter writing.

She said: "We live in a world where there are a lot of emails and text messages sent, so it nice when you think someone has sat down, thought of you and taken that one act just for you.

"The club is people to spread positivity and this felt like a very logical thing to do.

"I've been so proud of my students who have taken this task so seriously."

Rob Berry, service manager at Selby CAHMS, said the letters meant "so much" to the young people the centre supports.

"We're now getting the letters made into a photobook so they are not ever lost and are there for people to remember," he said.

"When people feel like they don't have much hope, it is really powerful for them to feel like there is hope for them."

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