Therapists encouraged by Liverpool parade response

A mental health charity that offered free counselling to young people affected by last month's Liverpool FC parade crash said it had been encouraged by the numbers coming forward for help.

More than 100 people were injured - the youngest being nine years old - on 26 May when a car drove into crowds of people near the end of the Reds' Premier League victory parade in Liverpool.

Danika Leahey, director of operations at the Be Free Campaign, said her charity offered support within three hours of the incident and went on to help 21 families in the week that followed.

"It was encouraging to see the amount of young people coming along and with their peers," she said.

Ms Leahey said she was pleased "particularly because it was in half-term [when many young people] didn't have their usual support network".

The Be Free Campaign, which provides support to people aged between 11 and 25, offered 90-minute sessions to guide them through dealing with the initial trauma of the incident, and then help them cope with any physical after-effects.

"A lot of people were there to help manage the physical symptoms because they weren't expecting them," she said.

"When you see [something traumatic] first hand, it can have such a greater effect on you as a young person. That anxiety and fear can lead to panic attacks [and] shortness of breath."

While the sessions were designed with young people in mind, Ms Leahey said it was equally important to support parents, caregivers and other adults.

"If people don't take care of themselves, they aren't able to support those around them," she said.

Ms Leahey said her charity, which also set up a response hub following the Southport riots last year, was ready to go just three hours after the Liverpool FC parade incident and was contacted by somebody asking for help later that evening.

"It took us a week last time to get everything set up, and because we had a blueprint based on that, we were able to bring that back out and we had the resources," she explained.

"We knew what tools to bring in to keep young people safe and how to get that info out into a child's larger support network and make sure they were fully supported."

Ms Leahey said the Be Free Campaign was still having to "fight against the narrative" that only those who were physically injured needed support.

"The hurt may not be physical but it is still so real," she said.

"It's all about making sure they're able to discuss when they don't feel great and getting into the habit of talking about things and accessing support when it's needed.

"That kind of anxiety can easily spiral and manifest into something even more serious, but it doesn't have to."

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