Himos Hub’s Art Magic for Cheshire Mental Health

If you’ve listened to my morning show this week you’ll know we’ve been diving into real talk on kids’ mental health—especially this Children’s Mental Health Week.

One chat that proper stuck with me was with Liz from Himos Hub.

She’s got this cracking little setup in Cheshire that’s changing lives, one paintbrush at a time.

What’s Himos Hub all about?

Picture this: a world where kids aren’t ticking boxes or rushing to the next lesson. Liz, ex-primary teacher who ditched the disillusionment post-COVID, started Himos Hub nearly five years back. It’s a therapeutic art school—HIMOS stands for Happy In My Own Self—open to kids and adults, but kids mostly.

No fixed plans, no assessments, just a safe, cosy spot (max 10-15 at a time) for them to grab a snack, scribble, or smash out a masterpiece.

Ages 5 to 15 all mixed, chatting away on their own projects. Liz nails it: “Just let them be… figure out who they are.”

Why kids need this now more than ever

Life’s mad busy—school, clubs, constant measuring. Liz sees it daily: more messages from parents and kids desperate for “something different.”

We’re lucky with our youngsters, they smash it, but they’re still figuring out the world. “Everything’s on a tick sheet,” she says, “and yeah, I get that from my teaching days.”

Creativity? That’s the spark—world’s built on it, yet we spreadsheet everything. Art hits back with life skills that boost everything else.

During Mental Health Week, this hits home hard.

The magic you see happening

Kids rock up tense, leave chilled—“physical relaxation,” Liz calls it. First-timers freeze: “We can do anything?” Then boom, smiles: “Oh my gosh, this is new and exciting.” They embrace the mess or the brilliance, process over product.

Community’s key too—kids connect across chaos, sharing ideas.

Liz worries she can’t reach everyone (they do offsite with schools, charities, care homes), but she’s the pebble in the pond, rippling out. Magic wand? More little hubs everywhere.

Tune in and join the vibe

We even had a laugh hunting Liz’s go-to chill tune—George Harrison vibes (or Pharrell’s Happy?). In the end she went for The Travelling Wilbury’s End Of The Line!

• Find out more about Himos Hub on Facebook