Enabling young Londoners to lead happy, healthy lives by supporting their mental health & wellbeing
Young people’s mental well-being is now a national crisis. Even before the advent of Covid-19, there was a gulf between the availability of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and the number of young people needing their support.
This issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic – significantly increasing the volume of young people needing help with mental health issues, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Young people have experienced abuse, bereavement, anxiety about catching the virus or friends and family catching it, isolation and loneliness, worry about falling behind with their education or missing crucial exams, worry about returning to school and other aspects of normal life, and narrowing social networks.
We believe the relationships young people have with their youth workers and the safe spaces offered by youth organisations should be a crucial part of the solution to this issue.