There is a mental health epidemic happening in our schools. One in five young people now has a diagnosed mental health condition like depression or anxiety – and many more struggle with stress. This rate has doubled in the last 20 years.
Young people in our part of Berkshire struggle just as much as those in the most challenging parts of the UK.
There’s no single cause of this epidemic, but in all our work with local young people we hear that they face 24/7 pressure from all sides.
We can’t take away every pressure – but we CAN do something to make a difference to the young people in OUR schools.
Help to change things – with £10 per month
Just £10 per month could make 2020 a better year for a teenager like Megan*. After we ran Inside Out – our creative mental health project – with Megan’s class in Wokingham, her teacher told us:
“Megan has had a really difficult week with anxiety. Today was the first time she went to all her lessons and I saw her smile – what an impact.”
The cost and benefit of creativity
We know the creative arts have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, but young people are getting less time for them in the curriculum as school budgets are squeezed.
Soulscape’s projects use theatre, painting, sculpture, songwriting and film to help young people explore the issues and pressures they face. The arts allow teenagers to slow down, reflect on what they think and feel, and express what’s going on inside. This all helps to relieve stress and pressure and protect their mental health.
But what’s the cost? If you can give £10 per month this year – that’s one coffee per week at Costa / Nero’s / Oslar – you can keep our projects supplied with paint, clay, or pay for a visiting artist to help young people like Megan really express what they’re going through.
We want this year to be different for the young people we know. But we need your help to do it. Thank you for your support.
*name changed