UK YOUTH 

A note on language: The name #YoungAndBlack Changemakers grew out of a successful youth-led campaign to amplify the voices of young Black people in the UK. The campaign was a response to the ....more

A note on language: The name #YoungAndBlack Changemakers grew out of a successful youth-led campaign to amplify the voices of young Black people in the UK. The campaign was a response to the widespread calls from young Black people, and young people from racialised communities, for action against racism. The #YoungAndBlack campaign, and its name, built upon the momentum of the global Black Lives Matter movement. This project #YoungAndBlack Changemakers will tackle the shameful racial inequalities that exist in the access to, and quality of, mental health support for young people from all racialised communities, not only young Black people. We avoid use of the acronym BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) due to problems with its specificity, its focus on skin colour, and the fact that few young people from racialised communities relate to the term. Our dynamic partnership sees UK Youth, Centre for Mental Health (CMH) and The Diana Award collaborating to bring together expertise from the mental health sector, youth services and formal education. We will work together with young people from racialised communities to reimagine the culturally competent mental health support they need. The project will work with young people from racialised communities aged 16-25 to: 1. Build upon an empirical understanding of the mental health inequalities experienced by young people from racialised communities. 2. Improve the quality of and access to mental health care for young people from racialised communities, in learning and community environments, through the design and dissemination of professional training, quality frameworks and use of digital media. 3. Promote positive mental health in young people from racialised communities, through programmes that focus on socio-emotional development and resilience, whilst also upskilling practitioners. 4. Inform and shape national and local policy that impacts both clinical and non-clinical mental health settings. The respective reach of the partnership will enable the project to actively engage young people, teachers, youth workers, education stakeholders, parents and carers, civil society and industry; taking a holistic approach to the ecosystem of support needed. We can influence both practice and policy, feeding project findings into Select Committee inquiries, and through Ministers at DHSC via the Mental Health Policy Group. We will seek to build a working relationship with the recently announced government Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Dr. Alex George. The project will seek to understand the current picture and rapidly test innovative new approaches to scale. By sharing what works and harnessing the influence of nationally positioned organisations we will campaign for a paradigm shift across sectors to effectively engage with and support the mental health of young people from racialised communities.