Calls for mental health drop-ins for all young people in England
#FundTheHubs campaign says every young person should have somewhere they can turn to if they need support
Last updated 24th May 2022
There are calls for the government to fund a network of mental health hubs for young people across England.
Mind, The Children's Society, Young Minds, Young Access, The Centre for Mental Health and The Children & Young People's Mental Health Coalition are joining forces to ask for support for existing services with sustainable funding, and provide new services where none currently exist.
At the moment not every 11-25 year old has access to drop-in services where they can talk about their problems.
The campaign is asking the Prime Minister to invest £150m to make it a reality.
Fund the Hubs
Nearly four in five young people feel they have to deal with mental health problems on their own, while less than one in five feel confident enough to do it successfully (Young Minds survey 2019)
Speaking about the #FundtheHubs campaign, Kahra Wayland-Larty from Young Access told the Mental Health Monday Podcast: "It's somewhere local for young people to go before they reach crisis point.
"We don't want to turn any young person away, even if they're on a waiting list (elsewhere). To deal with low-level issues or other psycho-social issues, there should be somewhere where they can get that.
"There are services out there already that provide this hub model, the issue is that they're not properly funded, they're not sustainably funded. What we're asking for is investment so those services can do their jobs well."
The campaign hopes to create and support local services where young people can access support for free and without having to go on a waiting list.
How do I support Fund the Hubs?
Charities are encouraging MPs to put pressure on the Prime Minister to make their hubs a reality.
They suggest an upfront cost of £150m can get the project up and running on an annual basis, something they argue will pay dividends by relieving pressure on the welfare, employment and criminal justice system in the future.
They want people to write to their MP to ask them to join the campaign.
Government response
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“We are committed to supporting everyone’s mental health and wellbeing and urge anyone who is struggling to seek help.
“Early intervention and treatment is vital, and we are providing an extra £2.3 billion a year to mental health services by 2023/24, which will help an additional 345,000 children and young people access NHS-funded services or school and college-based support.
“We’ve also launched our Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, backed by an additional £500 million, which specifically targets people most impacted by the pandemic, including young people.”