Providing young people with space to discuss mental health priorities

ARC Children and Young People’s Mental Health Infrastructure Programme

An innovative and award-winning initiative, designed to understand the mental health needs of young people in North West London.

Project status: ongoing

In partnership with the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North West London, NIHR Clinical Research Network North West London and Imperial College London, Listen to Act is putting young people at the centre of conversations about mental health in North West London.

We were asked to build an advisory group of young people representing eight boroughs across the region to provide opportunities for young people to feedback on the research being carried out within the programme and to capture young people’s priorities. We recruited members to the group from young carer groups, youth councils, schools, and local authority programmes between 14 and 25 years old.

“It’s really good: a super lovely, comfortable environment. It’s a safe space to say what you want to say.”

— Young People's Advisory Group member

“I like being part of it - it feels quite revolutionary”

— Young People's Advisory Group member

“Listen to Act have been instrumental in helping us engage with young people regarding their mental health and supporting us in making sure their voices are heard.”

— Shamini Gnani, Clinical Lead of North West London Schools Research Network and ARC Outreach Alliance

The challenge

There is a lack of research on young people's mental health in Northwest London so the programme is aiming to plug these gaps. The ARC Outreach Alliance approached us to build infrastructure that provides opportunities for young people to feedback into this process.

What we’re doing

We are building and running a Young People’s Advisory Group. This is to provide young people with a safe and supportive environment to discuss the provision of local mental health support, feedback on ARC’s mental health research programme, and plan activities and events across North West London.

Results

The group is growing in terms of volunteers numbers and regional profile. YPAG provides regular feedback to ARC and the insights of young people from the group have been influential in shaping the research and related policy decisions. Listen to Act won a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement award for our approach to this work.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with ARC to explore the mental health priorities of young people from across North West London. Creating a supportive and open environment for young people to discuss what matters to them is so important, and can have a significant impact in improving the mental health support available for everyone.”

— Alex Weston, Listen to Act, Youth Engagement Manager

At the heart of our youth projects is a growing network of young voices. More young people than ever are in need of quality support from local health and care services. Watch this short film made by Listen to Act volunteers in partnership with ARC NorthWest London and Imperial College.

What the advisory group has achieved so far…

Together, we have:

Established a strong advisory group of young people aged 14 to 25 representing all eight North West London boroughs.
Held multiple workshops (group and one to one format) with the advisory group with an average of seven young people.
The young members advised on and heavily influenced three key pieces of research, and in some cases were given authorship status.
The young group members created a new name for the project: ‘ARC Outreach Alliance: young people’s open minds in North West London,’
Held two training events to upskill them with the tools and confidence to speak with young people and policymakers about health matters.
An advisory group member took part in a youth panel to discuss engaging with young people as part of Imperial College London’s ‘Engagement Day 2023’.
The young members regularly contribute to - and assisst in editing a quarterly newsletter shared with policymakers, advised on the online presence of the project and wrote content about their experiences in the form of blogs.
The young members have presented at multiple meetings and events with key stakeholders and policymakers, sharing their priorities for health and wellbeing. They also helped to collate seminal reports on young people’s mental health.
The young members created a short film to inspire more young people to join the programme. The film was planned, written, delivered, filmed and edited exclusively by the young members.