Headed up by former Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, the commission seeks to ‘design a new national system to prevent crisis in vulnerable young people and support them to succeed in life’ and this weekend, published a report outlining the growing crisis and a proposal outlining how to improve mental health services. Our Chief Executive, Cassandra Harrison, recently met with the commission to share our vision and evidence of our member’s impact.
We know mental health does not exist in a vacuum, so our members provide holistic, wraparound support to young people. YIACS have been found to have comparable clinical outcomes to NHS CYPMHS and school-based counselling, and young people report higher levels of satisfaction.
Cassandra Harrison, Chief Executive Officer
The independent commission have subsequently joined the call for the Government to fund the hubs in their thematic report ‘Rethinking mental health services for vulnerable young people'.
“Services of this kind have been found to be an effective gateway to support for young people facing the greatest mental health disparities.”
“Hubs provide a clear opportunity to bridge the gap in early intervention support that currently exists within community spaces and to provide flexible support to those at greater risk of developing mental health problems.”
“Drop-in mental health hubs can reduce pressures on the NHS and improve young people’s life chances by providing a community space to access flexible support for emotional wellbeing.”
The commission’s report is a welcome addition to the ever growing consensus within the sector on the need for a national rollout of YIACS and consistent funding for the transformational support provided by our members’ services.
We’re not looking for a ‘redesign’ of services but an expansion of and investment in the existing network of services that we know work, and in many cases, are more effective at supporting the worst served and vulnerable young people. You can join us in our call for the government to #FundtheHubs by writing to your local MP.
