How can funders help tackle the youth mental health crisis?

Last month, we held a launch event for our new report on the youth mental health crisis. The event, which was standing room only, brought together professionals from across the sector to discuss the rising mental health needs of children and young people.   

At the event, Ndidi Okezie, CEO of UK Youth, posed the following question to the audience: 

 ‘What is stopping us from scaling [efforts to tackle the youth mental health crisis]? It’s not about asking what is happening? or what should we do? anymore—but more, what is actually stopping our collective will to do something about this?’  

This question has stuck in my mind, and I think it accurately underpins a conundrum that relates to most social inequalities that pervade the UK today. What is stopping us from working towards real change? 

The fact of the matter is that we are working with and within a shattered system—an NHS at breaking point, demand for services at an all-time high, and dwindling resources. With public and private support services failing so many, charities are a lifeline for those who have slipped through the cracks. It is more crucial than ever for the sector to pull together and move away from further fragmentation, and towards collaboration and systems-based approaches. These are just two of the six key areas identified in our report, where funders in particular can create long-term positive change for children and young people.  

At the event, Ndidi was joined by Anne Kent-Taylor, Director of Blue Smile, Hannah Large, NPC Senior Consultant, and NPC Trustee Emily Wheeler for a panel discussion which cultivated energy and optimism amongst participants. The discussion turned to strengthening the mental health workforce, and the desperate need for targeted funding to train and retain professionals. Youth workers were highlighted by both panellists and participants as key figures who, with the necessary investment, could deliver the personalised care and support so many young people lack and need. This is particularly the case with early intervention and prevention, as well as supporting children from marginalised groups; having a youth worker to identify with and relate to can be critical for forming trusting relationships. Similarly, teachers play significant roles in the lives of children and young people. However, the pressures on teachers to double-up as mental health professionals is unsustainable and highlights the need for a stronger mental health workforce who can provide tailored support for young people.  

Strengthening the delivery of charity sector support services is just one part of the system, and is the responsibility of stakeholders across the board, not just frontline staff. As highlighted by our panel, funders often chime something along the lines of, ‘we aren’t the experts, we fund the experts’, however, this is far from the truth.  

In reality, funders hold immense expertise across a variety of areas, such as allocating resources, governance, operational processes, impact measurement, and much more—not forgetting the knowledge inevitably gained from the organisations that they fund. For a truly systemic approach to funding, funders must share valuable knowledge gained with grant holders, service deliverers, evaluators, and other funders. Funders have a responsibility to look beyond their organisation and across the system, identifying where gaps in expertise and capacity lie, and filling them where they can.  

At NPC, we have identified six key areas where funders have the potential to create long-term positive change for children and young people: 

1. Preventative work and early intervention. 
2. Supporting children from minoritised groups.  
3. Building and diversifying the mental health workforce.  
4. Funding research on what works.  
5. Enabling collaboration across the mental health sector. 
6. Exploring a systems-based approach to funding.  

If you’re a funder and you would like to play a part in creating long-lasting change, please get in touch,  if you’re a charity and you would like to find out more, please contact Hannah Large, NPC Senior Consultant, or Lily Meisner, NPC Consultant.