Young people and mental health

For many young people, adolescence is a confusing time of change; for those who experience additional difficulties with their mental health, this can be a frightening and isolating time.

In the last 25 years, anxiety and depression rates amongst young people have increased by 70%.

Young people are often reluctant to seek help from mental health services for fear of being stigmatised, and support within and outside mental health settings is often patchy. If left unsupported, the impact of ill health and stigma can be devastating. But with the right help at the right time, the wellbeing of young people with mental health problems can be greatly improved.

Please note this is a very oversubscribed funding programme. We are specifically looking to reach young people with current mental health problems such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, hearing voices, self harm, eating disorders or suicidal feelings.

Aim of the programme

We aim to support work with young people aged 11-25 with current mental health problems.

• Services for young people – We will support services and approaches that help young people experiencing mental health problems make positive changes in their lives. We will fund interventions which directly relate to young people’s existing and identifiable mental health problems. This could include individual counselling, group work or peer support. We especially welcome applications providing support in settings where young people feel comfortable and won’t fear being labelled or stigmatised.
• Training – We will also fund projects that ensure those working with young people with mental health problems, including youth workers, have access to good quality training to improve their skill base and confidence levels.

Outcomes

Your work will need to deliver one or more of the following outcomes:

• Increased access to appropriate services for young people with mental health problems, resulting in improved mental health
• A greater understanding and specialist skill base amongst people who work with young people with mental health needs.

Other important information

For this final round of funding in our current grants strategy, we are prioritising organizations that:

• Operate in the following regions: East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, Wales
• Work with one or more specifically identified and clearly defined mental health issue(s)
• Work with particularly excluded target groups including one of the following:
  • Transgender
  • Black and minority ethnic groups
  • Currently or previously in the care system

We do not support work seeking to improve young people’s general wellbeing, as we target our funds towards those with recognised mental health problems with a need for specialist support.

We do not fund:

• Projects for young people with learning disabilities, autism or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), unless they are supporting these young people with mental health issues
• Prevention projects targeting those at risk of developing mental health problems
• Projects dealing with young people’s general emotional wellbeing

We recognise the importance of strong local partnerships between voluntary and statutory agencies in delivering effective services to young people with mental health problems. This might mean agencies from different sectors sharing resources and working together on specific projects. We are keen to hear how you work within local strategies for young people and mental health and how our funds can help you achieve the best possible outcomes in this complex funding environment.

You can apply for some or all of your project costs, but we encourage you to get some of your funding from other sources if you can. We will not generally fund the full costs of applications made by charities with an annual income of over £10m. Our grants usually vary between £25,000 and £40,000 per year for a maximum of three years and rarely exceed this upper limit.

If your work is national or provides a model that could be replicated, we may be able to fund at a higher level. Please call us to discuss this before you submit an application.

You should also read our UK Grants Strategy

The Young People and Mental Health programme is open for on-line applications from 13th August until midday on 19th October 2012.