Topic: Mental health support
Stephen Fry and 53 youth and mental health organisations have backed thousands of young people who are asking the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to fund early support hubs in the Autumn Spending Review.
Young people have written to the Chancellor about the lack of early mental support and the impact this has had on their ability to get the help they need. They are calling for a national network of early support hubs to provide easy-to-access, drop-in mental health support for young people, on a self-referral basis.
In a letter published today, Thursday 30th September 2021, Stephen Fry and 53 organisations, have stated their support for the young people who are writing to the Chancellor, urging the Government to listen to the young people and make a serious funding commitment in the upcoming Spending Review. Organisations who have signed the letter include YoungMinds, Mind, The Children’s Society, Youth Access, Centre for Mental Health, The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, Black Thrive Global, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, BACP, the Samaritans and many others.
There is also growing evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic has put extra pressure on mental health services, which despite greater investment, remain significantly overstretched. Many of the young people who wrote the letter to the Chancellor did not get early support in their local area when they started struggling with their mental health. This resulted in their mental health deteriorating and needing more support in the future. Early support hubs will ease the pressure on the NHS and provide a space for young people to get support before they reach crisis.
“If I had had an early support hub like the one we are campaigning for, I could have escaped years of struggling. I could have received help for my anxiety and panic attacks in a supportive environment, and built a community with people going through similar things, saving me from what became complete isolation.
“Early support hubs for mental health act as a net that catches the young people who fall through the gaps. Access to one means young people don’t have to carry the huge task of managing their mental health alone.”
YoungMinds Activists (young people with lived experience of struggling with their mental health who work with the charity), wrote the letter to the Chancellor and young people across the UK were invited to add their names. Four Activists have taken the letter to Number 11 to hand directly to the Chancellor today.
The organisations who have shown support for the young people writing to the Chancellor include:
Stephen Fry, Actor, Author, Broadcaster, Comedian and President of mental health charity Mind
Emma Thomas, Chief Executive, YoungMinds
Dr Jacqui Dyer MBE, Director, Black Thrive Global
Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health
Norman Lamb, Chair, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
Mark Russell, Chief Executive, The Children’s Society
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, Mind
Cassandra Harrison, Chief Executive, Youth Access
Pippa Goodfellow, Director, Alliance for Youth Justice
Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive, Ambitious About Autism
Natalie Bailey, Chair, BACP
Andrew Radford, Chief Executive, Beat
Louisa Rose, Chief Executive, Beyond
Helen Marshall, Chief Executive, Brook
Geethika Jayatiaka, Chief Executive, Chance UK
Kathy Evans, Chief Executive, Children England
Robin Barker, Chief Executive, Healthy Teen Minds
Dr Asha Patel, Chief Executive, Innovating Minds
Danny Hutchinson, Operations Director, Invictus Wellbeing
Louisa McGeehan, Chief Executive, Just for Kids Law
Tim Barker, Chief Executive, Kooth
Beth French, Chief Executive and Founder, Let’s Talk About Loss
Leigh Wallbank, Chief Executive, OCD Action
Shelly Whitehead, Director, Lock House Consulting Limited
Dr Amy Pollard FRSA, Director, Mental Health Collective
Simon Blake OBE, Chief Executive, Mental Health First Aid England
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation
Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive, National Children’s Bureau
Claire Dorer, Chief Executive, NASS
Sean Duggan, Chief Executive, NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network
Alyson Wylding, Director, No5 Young People
Leigh Middleton¸ Chief Executive, NYA
Karen Black, Chief Executive, Off the Record Bristol
Dympna Cunnane, Chief Executive, Our Time
Ged Flynn, Chief Executive, PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide
Jabeer Butt OBE, Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation
Jo Revill, Chief Executive, RCPCH
Dr Elaine Lockhart, Chair of Child & Adolescent Faculty, RCPsych
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness
Wendy Minhinnett, Director, Rollercoaster Family Support
Julie Bentley, Chief Executive, Samaritans
Sharon White OBE, Chief Executive, School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA)
Jon Salmon and Jo Emmerson, Directors, Speakers Collective CIC
Andrew Varley, Chief Executive, St Vincent’s Family Project
Juliet Hope MBE, Chief Executive, Startup
Rosie Tressler OBE, Chief Executive, Student Minds
Diana Ashby, Change Programme Manager and Deputising Chief Executive, The British Psychological Society
Clare Stafford, Chief Executive, The Charlie Waller Trust
Tessy Ojo CBE, Chief Executive, The Diana Award
Ndidi Okezie, Chief Executive, UK Youth
Anna Matthews, Chair of Trustees, UMHAN
John de Pury, Assistant Director of Policy/Mental Health lead, Universities UK
Rachel Kirby-Rider, Chief Executive, Young Lives vs Cancer
Joel Sutton, Chief Executive, Youth Mental Health Foundation
Claire Bethel, Consultant, Way Ahead
About YoungMinds
YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity fighting for young people’s mental health.
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For free advice and support for parents, call our helpline on 0808 802 5544.
