Addressing racial injustice
As a national network committed to upholding the rights of young people, equality and non-discrimination are central to everything we do at Youth Access. That includes working to challenge systems of racial injustice, including in the mental health system.
The disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, and the police brutality and institutional discrimination highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement, have shone a light on the barriers to equality faced by people of colour in the UK. In our mental health system, inequalities manifest in many ways, just a few of them being:
- BAME young people feel less able to access traditional mental health services
- Black people are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act
- Young people of colour are more likely to be turned away for early intervention
We have produced a series of resources to help the therapeutic community address racial injustice, and to support Black young people with their mental health in difficult times. We are also convening a Community of Practice to help foster mutual support and knowledge exchange between practitioners with a particular focus on supporting young people from BAME communities.
