A huge decline in our young people’s mental health

Almost half of all young people (48%) reported experiencing a mental health problem in a survey in February 2022.

It’s clearer now more than ever before that our young people are in a crisis and need our support to help them to understand and improve their wellbeing.

From the same report by the Prince’s Trust NatWest Youth Index, it reveals that young people aged 16-25 have hit an all-time low in their happiness and confidence in the last 13 years.

Most of those who took part pointed out that this had been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as they’ve become more anxious and experience more self-loathing than before. The pandemic had dire effects on young people as all the routines in their life were negatively impacted. At this time in their lives, they are at a key stage to be socialising, meeting new people, having new experiences, and beginning to create their life of independence but being completely shut off from this for years has delayed this happening and many fear these types of events now.

The young people have expressed concerns about their emotional wellbeing, loneliness, finances, and fear of failure, all becoming serious factors in causing their mental health issues.

35% of young people say they have never felt more alone. These heart-breaking statistics given directly to us from the young people showcase the significance of supporting those who are struggling. The feelings of loneliness that our young people face as well as the struggles with the cost-of-living can lead to extreme actions, such as causing injury to themselves or even attempted suicides.

These anxieties will only worsen over time unless they can get the positive support that they all need - Some many need more help than others!

At Transitions UK, we support many vulnerable young people who may be facing these issues in their lives and need that extra support such as those with special needs or learning difficulties (Achieve), those at risk of offending (Aspire) and those leaving care (Attain).

We also have the Affirm Project which supports those suffering with mental health and emotional needs. We support them with 1-1 mentoring where they form a strong mentor mentee relationship to improve on their personal development, confidence, self-esteem, educational opportunities, and employability. The project is tailored to the needs of the young person and where they want to be in the 2 years that we aim to support them – the path is theirs to create, and we will help them to reach their goals at the end.