Young Epilepsy is a national charity that supports the 112,000 children and young people under 25 with epilepsy in the UK.

There is a huge demand for information and support for parents and professionals and a need to improve access to, and quality of, health and education services.

We have a range of services including our helpline, health information resources, training courses for professionals in health, social care and education and the promotion of good practice in schools.

Education and Services for People with Autism Limited is a Registered Charity with over 24 years’ experience of supporting people on the autism spectrum.

ESPA’s services include:

We care for children and young adults with progressive, life shortening conditions from across the North East.

Our team of skilled staff provide residential short breaks to local families. Up to six children and young adults can stay at any one time in our relaxed, home-from-home environment.

Children from birth to 18 can benefit from short breaks here. Teenagers benefit from their own living area – complete with games consoles, wide screen TV and PC’s.

We also care for young adults aged 18- 25 in designated, age-appropriate facilities.

St Cuthberts Care is a leading North East charity providing specialised services for some of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Our work is often focused on providing services which fill the gaps left by other providers who find our areas of work unattractive or too high risk. We focus largely on:

Samaritans of Tyneside have been in Newcastle-upon-Tyne since 1965 serving the local communities of Newcastle, Gateshead and south-west Northumberland. Now based at 15 Portland Terrace, Jesmond, NE2 1QQ, we are near Jesmond Metro Station and on the B1600. Unfortunately, we are unable to see face to face callers at the Branch right now, but our volunteers are still going in every day to answer the telephone and reply to emails.

Cafe Beam at Ouseburn Farm provides a fabulous environment for young people with disabilities and learning difficulties to gain hands on work experience and learn new skills and develop confidence.

We are looking for regular volunteers to provide practical support for our youngsters usually for one morning or one afternoon on a weekly basis.  This role is extremely rewarding and varied and you will acquire a real insight into the operational side of our organisation as well as gaining valuable experience in working with people with special needs. 

We provide supported work placements to people who have learning difficulties, mental health problems, or both. We aim to empower people with the skills and experience that only real working environments can give:

• team working

• social interaction

• access to training opportunities

Our voluntary placements help to increase self confidence in the work place and beyond, improve self esteem and reduce social isolation.

MHM was established 30 years ago by families and carers in the North East to provide support and care for people they loved with mental health problems.

Today we have grown into a major national organisation supporting people with learning disabilities, drug and alcohol and other problems, as well as our core client group of people with mental health needs, across the UK through a range of evidence based and innovative services.

Streetwise provide a range of health and wellbeing support services for young people aged 11 - 25 year olds. 

Young people aged 13-25 can access the full range of contraception, sexual health, C-card (free condoms), Chlamydia testing, pregnancy testing. Workers offer support around wider issues such as relationships, drugs, alcohol and any other issues facing young people. We will signpost on to other services where appropriate.

We have a counselling and mental health service offering support around mental health and well-being for young people aged 11-25. 

RISE is part of the Newcastle Gateshead CCG, NHS and DFE Mental Health in Schools programme. We work in schools and colleges and support young people with moderate mental health needs. This could mean working directly with individual students, running group sessions, or helping teachers shape lesson plans or assemblies.

At RISE, we offer low intensity support for children and young people coping with mild to moderate mental health needs. Our Education Mental Health Practitioners will tailor sessions based on young person needs but themes may include:

This service is available at our usual Monday and Thursday drop ins as well as a specific sexual health drop in on Fridays from 3pm to 6.30pm at our Young People's Service based on the West Road in Newcastle. Come and see us without having to book an appointment and in confidence.

Provides dental care for pre-school children, school children, those with special needs, learning disabilities, medical problems or severe anxiety and any other clients who are unable to find a dentist.  

Clinics are available at Arthur's Hill Clinic (check website), Kenton Health Centre, Molineux Street NHS Centre and Walker Centre. You can contact the service directly.

The community dental department provides a full range of dental treatment for patients who are residents of Newcastle and who fit one or more of the following criteria:

Healthier Families was previously known as Change4Life.

They are a service which encourages healthier eating and exercise for families.

The Newcastle Community Team for Learning Disabilities is based at Benton House in Newcastle.

The Adult team provides specialist assessment and treatment to people aged 18 years and over with a learning disability and additional health needs, where the person’s needs are complex and require an integrated approach to care and treatment that cannot be met through mainstream services.

The Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders Service (CNDS) is a specialist second opinion Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) service for children and young people.  We provide diagnostic assessments where there is uncertainty around diagnosis.  In addition we also provide consultation and management advice to local services concerning children and young people who already have an existing ASD diagnosis.

Outreach clinic to provide people with a learning disability who have offended or show offending type behaviour(s), and those involved in caring for them the opportunity to seek advice and support on managing day to day forensic issues.

Areas covered: Cumbria, Sunderland and Newcastle

How to get referred:

Referrals must be made through local community nursing teams for each locality.

We provide a range of specialist services for both adults and children with autism and or learning disabilities or both. We work closely with other Trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary sector organisations.

The team will work with children/young people between the ages of 4-18 with a learning disability and or Autism Spectrum Disorder where their behaviour that challenges occurs as a result of the young person having limited abilities to communicate distress, and get their needs met in other more adaptive ways.

How to refer:

All referrals must come from a Community CYPS team; it is essential that a care co-ordinator is identified. Consultation clinics are held monthly in each locality where potential referrals can be taken to be discussed.

The Secure Outreach Transition Team (SOTT), provides assessment, intervention, treatment, management and supervision for service users with a learning disability and/or autism spectrum disorder who are:
• Currently in secure care
• In the community following discharge from a period of secure care
• In the community having been referred due to offences or offending behaviour that represents a risk to the general public and who potentially may require admission to secure care.

Our children’s acute physiotherapy team provide a comprehensive range of services for babies, children and young people with musculoskeletal, neurological or cardio-respiratory conditions.

The services we deliver range from treatments for common disorders, to more specialist care for complex problems, such as hydrotherapy, non-invasive ventilation and Ponsetti casting for congenital foot deformities.

Our children’s community therapy services team provide highly specialised physiotherapy and occupational therapy to children who have long-term disabilities and complex health needs.

We work to support the child and their family to reach their greatest physical potential. This includes giving support to schools, respite agencies, and other local community services that children and their families may use.

We provide a specialist regional service to children and their families covering a large geographical area – as far north as the Scottish Borders, south to the North Yorkshire across to the west coast.

Based at the Great North Children’s Hospital, we look after children from new-born through to 18 years old who require ventilatory support.

The majority of our patients that require assistance are managed with mask ventilation overnight however we also support children with tracheostomy who are dependent on ventilation 24 hours a day. 

The children's speech and language therapy service provides expert guidance and support around children’s speech, language and communication.

Our commitment is to help children communicate to the best of their ability.

We aim to minimise any negative impact of speech, language or communication difficulties for the child and their family, as well as on their education and social lives.

Our geographical boundary is Newcastle and we also treat children through regional services.

 We can provide specialist support for: