大象传媒

"The 21st-Century in Newcastle is a very tough place to be, especially for some of our young people," says mental health project worker Rae Briggs.

"Statistically we're talking about one in four young people with mental health problems.

"It's not necessarily major, major breakdowns in their lives - life in general is quite hard."

The Saturdays visited WEYES for Comic Relief

Rae works at the West End Youth Enquiry Service (WEYES) in Newcastle.

The project, run by the charity Children North East, offers advice, support and information to young people aged 11-25, who live, study or work in the West End of Newcastle.

Its main focus is on providing assistance with health issues, including mental and sexual health, but it also offers general advice on a wide range of other topics including education, housing, drugs and personal safety.

"We're about building young people's resilience so that they can cope with their problems a bit better," explains Rae.

"We support young people to get their own skills to solve their own problems."

In 2006 the project was awarded a grant of 拢97,000 over three years and Rae says the money has been "absolutely crucial" in allowing them to develop new services.

"We're now working with eight-year-olds right the way through to 25-year-olds and that's developed because of the Comic Relief funding," she says.

"The people out there who give their money to Comic Relief, it's really important to know that your money, however much it is, is actually making a difference to young people in Newcastle."