Who We Are

Imagine being a young person and wanting your life to end.

Imagine feeling this hopeless, this desperate, this lonely. Imagine the courage it takes to tell someone and to ask for help. Imagine the devastation when, having reached out, the support you need just isn't there.

Thousands of young people living in the UK don't need to imagine - this is their reality.

We live in a country where the number of young people presenting at A&E with urgent mental health needs has tripled in the last ten years, where a quarter of young women have a diagnosable mental health problem and where suicide is the single biggest killer of boys and young men.

And these figures do not yet factor in the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the tsunami of mental health struggles we anticipate as a result.

The crisis in young people's mental health is well publicised. But behind each and every one of these statistics is a real life - a young person who urgently needs help. Far, far too often, these young people are simply not getting that help. And for many, it is already too late.

Through our work, we are changing this.

Every young person whose mental health ends up in crisis is a young person who has been failed. We know that the earlier young people can access the right help, the more likely it is that they can avoid these crises.

We want to see a world where every young person who is struggling feels able to reach out, and has people and services around them who can really help.

Whether they need a reassuring conversation, specialist mental health support, or simply the knowledge that they are not alone in how they are feeling, we will make sure that all young people get support that meets them where they're at as quickly as possible.

We're not afraid to speak up for what's right.

We know what needs to change because young people tell us. If they raise their voices, so do we.

We're optimistic.

Things get tough, but we never forget to celebrate progress and never stop looking for practical ways to make things better.

Kindness is our strength.

Everything we do, we do with love, care and compassion.

We celebrate what makes you you.

Whoever you are, we welcome you and we always encourage you to be true to yourself.

Since we launched our most recent strategic plan in 2016, there have been huge changes in the world of young people’s mental health. The pressures young people face have changed; awareness of the issues has grown but social stigma and misconceptions remain; and although the prevalence of mental health problems has increased, accessing services is as hard as ever.

YoungMinds has also changed. We’re a bigger, braver, more confident charity. We have a decisive view from a detailed strategic review of what needs to change and the role we can play in making that change.

Our new strategy was developed alongside our Youth Panel, with involvement from young people, parents and professionals. It reflects these changing and uncertain times, as we continue to endure the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on top of the crisis in young people’s mental health that was already present.

We have a new purpose: to stop young people’s mental health reaching crisis point. A new vision: that no young person feels alone with their mental health. And a new mission: to make sure young people get the support they need, when they need it, no matter what.

These are huge ambitions, but we are confident we can make them a reality. To get us there, we have organised our work into three programmes, allowing us to focus on where we can have the greatest impact for young people.

Helping young people to look after their own mental health

We will provide young people with reassurance and advice to help them make positive choices for their mental health and know what to do next if they are struggling.

Making sure young people have adults around them who can really help

Whenever a young person opens up about their mental health to an adult they trust, we want them to find someone who really gets it and can respond positively.

Building a youth-led movement to make sure support is there for anyone who needs it.

By building a movement for change, through which young people can create the societal changes they want to see, we know that far more young people will get the support they need.