Responding to the mental health needs of young people in Lambeth
It is estimated that as many as one in five young people in inner city areas such as Lambeth now experience mental health problems, compared to one in seven nationally*. Many young people have been adversely impacted by the pandemic and cost of living crisis and face barriers when accessing support, including long waiting times and a lack of appropriate services.
Building Young Brixton is a partnership of Lambeth based youth and community organisations, working together to provide and improve access to services and support for young people across the borough. The partnership works with over 2,000 young people a year and has seen first-hand the challenges young people face with their mental health.
Youth organisations are often the first port-of-call for a young person during a time of crisis, yet there remains a challenge, both in capacity and skills, in providing appropriate support. In response, the partnership is undertaking a piece of research to better understand how locally rooted youth and play organisations can support young people with their mental health.
More than 100 young people, parents and practitioners in Lambeth have been able to share their views on challenges and potential solutions through surveys, interviews and workshops. These have included workshops for young people designed and delivered by peer researchers from the Lambeth Peer Action Collective.
The findings will be used to co-design and develop new initiatives that strengthen community-based responses, enhance collaboration between youth organisations and mental health services, and improve mental health support for young people in Lambeth. The report is set to be published in summer 2025, and will be available in the Lambeth Community Research Network’s Research Library.
* Knowles et all (2021). Mental distress among young people in inner cities: the Resilience, Ethnicity and AdolesCent Mental Health (REACH) study.