Young people’s mental health in Lambeth

Together with the Building Young Brixton (BYB) partnership, we’re looking to better understand the mental health needs of young people in Lambeth and identify how youth and play organisations can effectively respond through new initiatives.

Local youth and play organisations are often the first to identify children and young people experiencing mental health problems, but there are challenges, both in capacity and skills, in providing appropriate support. 

Building Young Brixton plans to respond to gaps in services and barriers to accessing support through research and co-design. By speaking to parents, youth practitioners and mental health services, and through workshops with young people – led by peer researchers from Lambeth Peer Action Collective – this research seeks to understand what services and activities are needed to support people experiencing mental health problems, including appropriate training and support for staff at youth organisations, and how to strengthen collaboration with mental health services.