Back In June 2024 the Northern Ireland Assembly reported on mental health services and pointed out that “there are significant gaps in services and many of our most vulnerable people do not get the care that they deserve and need” The NI public accounts committee identified issues with the mental health services in NI including; problems with the workforce, poor access to CAMHS services, extensive NHS waiting lists, lack of crisis services and not enough funding available through the Department of Health. According to the Department of Health’s website, “the number of children and young people waiting for an assessment of CAMHS (Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services) In Northern Ireland has been increasing”
However, as recommendations and plans were put forward, young people in Northern Ireland are still facing mental health problems with charities doing all that they can. Jonathan Smyth from the local charity ‘Action Mental Health’ (AMH) who promote mental well-being across Northern Ireland by offering a hybrid of services mentioned how they wish they could do more for young people “We are a charity and work with very limited resources so we do what we can, but we would love to be able to do so much more.” AMH believe that mental health should be actively promoted in NI schools and that is why they “provide lots of support for young people including things like counsellors based in schools and programmes to educate children, young people and their carers on how to pro-actively look after their mental health and importantly know how and where to get support when they need it.” AMH advocate for young people to be able to recognise the importance of help-seeking as Jonathan describes action mental health’s work to be “designed to break down barriers and stigma around mental health from a young age as it is important for young people to be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of poor mental health”
Action Mental Health’s “I am someone” campaign, endorsed by Northern Irish Actor
James Nesbitt.
Currently AMH have launched their ‘I am someone campaign’ sharing a range of powerful stories of people overcoming mental health struggles and highlighting how common mental illness is in NI, they are calling for donations to provide mental health services for children, teenagers and adults. According to their website, “One in five adults in Northern Ireland will show signs of mental ill health” and “One in eight children will face emotional difficulties.”
When speaking to undergraduate student Ariana Derry -Curran she reflected on her time in secondary school where she admitted that she experienced frequent problems with her mental well-being and shared some of the struggles young people have to deal with today “I think young people today have on a lot of pressures on them, I felt those pressures during my A levels where I often felt lonely as I felt that I couldn’t maintain a social life and focus on my school work while also juggling a part-time job at the same time. I found myself often being anxious and stressed before school as I struggled to keep up with work” She went on to say “I was disappointed with the level of support from my teachers when trying to catch up however I am glad to see the range of wellbeing and mental health services and support from my University’s wellbeing team”
It is vitally important to speak up and talk to someone you trust when facing mental health problems such as your friends, family or a GP. If you or someone you know are struggling with mental health problems, feel free to contact the following; Action Mental Health via their website at amh.org.uk or Young Minds at youngminds.org.uk. However, if more urgent help is needed for a mental health crisis the Samaritans run a 24-hour helpline on 02890664422 alongside the Northern Ireland helpline ‘lifeline’ on 0808 808 8000 in addition to Northern Ireland emergency services by dialling 999.
For more information please visit:
https://www.amh.org.uk/iamsomeone/?
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Student journalist UUC