Today sees the launch of a report highlighting research that our young people have been leading on to explore the current mental health challenges in North Tyneside.
From September 2017 to July 2018, Involve ran MH:2K supported by North Tyneside Local Authority, funded by North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group and Wellcome.
Wendy Burke, Director of Public Health said “We know that children and young people today face considerable emotional demands – but we wanted to understand more about their experiences and what might help to alleviate some of these pressures and MH:2K gave us this opportunity.”
A group of 27 local young people became ‘MH:2K Citizen Researchers’ and have had over 500 conversations with their peers to find out what young people’s views, opinions and experiences were around mental health.
Elle, one of the citizen researchers, said: “It is important that we can influence mental health decision-making as we are the people affected by pressures and trauma and we should be able to dictate what support we need for our own mental health.”
The MH:2K report outlines the findings and recommendations on the themes identified by young people as having the biggest impact on their mental health and wellbeing which were:
• Healthy Relationships
• Schools
• Social media and self esteem
• Stigma, support and awareness
• Self harm and suicide
Margaret Hall Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said “Our Citizen Researchers have done a fantastic job in leading this work and getting so many opinions from a wide range of young people.”
Among the recommendations the Citizen Researchers suggested promoting positive role models based on what people have achieved, not what they look like; buddying schemes in schools; and education for parents on how to talk to young people about mental health.
Anya Paradis, Director of Commissioning and Contracting at North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group said “The findings from the MH:2K report have given us new insights and perspectives about how we can most effectively support good mental health for young people locally.”
The report will be available to read at http://www.involve.org.uk/mh2k-northtyneside and more information on the MH:2K project can be found at www.involve.org.uk/mh2k
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We’re a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations and spark debate. www.wellcome.ac.uk
Involve is the UK’s leading public participation charity, on a mission to put people at the heart of decision-making. It supports people and decision-makers to work together to solve our biggest challenges.
www.involve.org.uk