About #EndTheWait
For years, politicians have promised to end the crisis in young people’s mental health. But the reality is that with every month of inaction, things are getting worse and too many people have to wait, hitting crisis point before they get help.
As part of the #EndTheWait campaign, Young Minds continued to call on government to #FundTheHubs to provide urgent mental health support in schools and make it easier and quicker to access treatment.
Young people are at the sharp end of a mental health crisis.
We know this because they’ve told us. In 2022, 13,887 young people under 25 shared their views through our Big Young People’s Survey. Their voices were made loud and clear.
- Over a third didn't feel supported by their GP when they tried to access mental health support.
- Over 40% waited over a month for mental health support after seeking it.
- Almost 1 in 10 were turned away when they tried to get support.
Since then, we’ve continued to bring together thousands of young people’s voices to share their experiences of mental health in the UK. What they’ve told us reveals just how serious this crisis is.
What we achieved
Over 10,000 of you added your voice to call for the Government to deliver on its promise to end the crisis in young people’s mental health.
Your support helps make sure that young people's voices get heard and that those in power commit to #EndTheWait.
In the summer of 2022, YoungMinds and 16 other mental health organisations called on the current and future Prime Minister to take action on the cost-of-living crisis, warning it could push the mental health system to "the brink of collapse" and urging them to prioritise the Mental Health Plan.
Alongside the mental health sector, we wrote a letter to the current and future Prime Minister urging the Government to act on the cost-of-living crisis.
On 2 November, YoungMinds Activists - Elsa, Jaiden and Tilly - delivered a welcome card to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The card was signed by thousands of campaigners, outlining our demands to end the mental health crisis for young people.
On Monday 20 March, we held our #EndTheWait Parliamentary event.
Thousands of campaigners invited their MP to this event, asking them to support us to #EndTheWait.
The event saw our Activists leading conversations about the campaign and gave them the opportunity to share their personal experiences with MPs. It was a unique chance for MPs to listen and speak with young people in person.
MPs were invited to play a game that worked as a visual representation for how heavy the load of mental health can be and that the longer you wait the heavier it becomes.
On Tuesday 27 June, we resorted to driving young people’s messages around Parliament Square, demanding they be heard.
Our young Activists spent the day campaigning by sharing their stories and experiences of the mental health system, and how they've been impacted by waiting times.
Find out more about the day in our blog, written by one of the Activists involved.
On Wednesday 28 February, YoungMinds Activists handed in a letter to 10 Downing Street where it will be delivered directly to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. This letter calls on him to include a national roll out of early mental health support hubs in the Spring Budget announcement.
We were joined on the day by Dr Alex George, one of the co-signers and a big supporter of #FundTheHubs. A huge thank you to every campaigner who added their name, shared the letter with friends and interacted with our launch video – we couldn’t do this work without your support.
We know change doesn’t happen overnight. With every campaign we continue to make sure mental health remains top of the agenda and any change reflects the voices and experience of young people.
You can see our ongoing campaign work in this area with #FundtheHubs.
With every campaign we continue to make sure mental health remains top of the agenda and any change reflects the voices and experience of young people.
I'm here because I feel like I've been given a platform to speak and can amplify my voice for those who can't. I'm speaking for those who want to be heard.
Our research and findings
Explore our research and findings to discover the situation with young people.
