Bluebird house is a hospital at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust for young people aged 12-18 years. Young people using our service have complex mental health problems which mean they pose a risk to themselves or others. We provide care, treatment and support in a safe and secure environment to help encourage the recovery and well-being of young people. Support is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The use of outdoor space is incredibly important to help improve the physical and mental well being of the young people that reside at the unit. There is increasing evidence to show the therapeutic impact that getting outside can have on an individual. There are three court yards at bluebird house that need renovating to make them more of a user friendly space, all year round.

For two of the court yards, we would like to level the floor so the young people can play football/ basketball/ play water games safely. We will have benches and plants that will give off aromas that will aid in relaxation. As well as outdoor lights and speakers so we are able to enhance the sensory experiences which will provide a calm and therapeutic outdoor space for all young people.

The last court yard, will be a sensory based garden. Which will be a relaxing space for young people to experience. This will be created with the help of the experienced OT team at Bluebird house to ensure that this space is a therapeutic as possible.

The team at blue bird house feel so passionately about this project we will be doing some in-house fundraising to obtain funds to help get this project off the ground. We will keep a blog so we can publish the step by step progress of the project