Social Development Evidence Session January 2016

Ellen

Introduce yourselves:

Hello. My name is Ellen Long and I am joined by (NAMES)

We are a team of young people aged 16 to 18 from all areas of Northern Ireland who have come together as part of the Erasmus+ Connections programme run by the NI Assembly’s Education Service. We are grateful to the Committee for giving your time today to hear about our project on mental health and some of the findings and recommendations. We hope that you find this informative and that it gives you an insight into the real issues that affect the young people of NI today.

Eimer

Project Overview:

We are working on a project called Connections which aims to promote dialogue between decision makers and young people. It is funded by the European funding stream Erasmus+. The project runs between February 2015 and February 2016.

This group makes up approximately one third of the 36 young people, aged between 16 and 18,who have been recruited from across Northern Ireland.

We were challenged to research an issue of our choice and communicate the findings to Assembly Committees. We decided to focus on the issue of mental health. After meeting with experts in the field and doing preliminary research we narrowed the focus to 3 areas:

•Mental Health Services for young people

•The role of education in mental health

•Mental health in the family and communityin 2015 (This is the film we produced and the one that you will see today)

In brief, throughout the last 12 months we have -

  • conducted interviews with experts;
  • scripted and shot 3 short films during one week in August ;
  • held focus groups with our peers on their views of mental health issues;
  • designeda web-based survey which was completed by over 2,300 young people from all across Northern Ireland and
  • produced the summary report you have in front of you.

Tara Grace

Introduce the film:

We investigated the impact of mental ill health on the community by interviewing various experts and people with personal experience. It was a great, hands on learning experience working alongside Assembly Broadcasting and we got an insight to media and broadcasting as well as investigating the impact of mental health on communities.

We think we have created a powerful film which highlights the importance of tackling this issue.

We will now watch the film and following that, Matthew will talk about some of the research findings in the report.

WATCH FILM

Courtney/TaraGrace : Key points from film:

  • NI has a 20% higher prevalence of mental illness than rest of UK and chances of getting better here are smaller.
  • There is a wide variety of conditions classified as mental illnesses - e.g. depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, schizophrenia, stress, self-harm, suicide.
  • There is not one ‘type’ of person who suffers – it’s male and female, rural and urban, all backgrounds, all religions, all ages.
  • HOWEVER Links can be made to areas which suffered most in the Troubles and the number of instances of suicide. Links can be made also to areas of social deprivation, poverty, economic inactivity and lack of education - there are higher mental illness figures. Figures are higher for those in prison system and those from LGBT communities.
  • There is still a stigma and fear around mental health. Services are not always easily accessible.

Andrew/TARA Grace: Effects on our community can be:

  • increased use of drugs and alcohol = antisocial behaviour;
  • increased pressures on NHS (mental AND physical areas) and other emergency services e.g. police and Social Services;
  • increased time off work/ school and therefore a cost to the economy (cost 3.5bn);
  • inability to cope with daily life - relationship breakdown - homelessness;
  • parent’s own mental ill health affecting their children;
  • trans generational trauma and PTSD
  • and ultimately an inability to move on and build peace.

Matthew

Talk about your Research - Focus Groups and Survey:

Focus groups –

As a whole group we split up and spoke to small numbers of 16-18 year olds in each of the education sectors.

General messages from those groups were:

-Various pressures on YP - bullying , social media etc

-They feel disconnected from MLAs and decision makers - voice not heard

-Mental health needs to be a top priority for government

-More services are needed and existing services needed to be YP friendly – longer hours / accessibility online- not just older people suffering

-Influence of drugs in their area

-Still a big stigma esp. boys

-Impact of bullying on mental health - Anti Bullying bill

Survey-

Every post primary school, all colleges and Universities, youth sector were informed of the survey in Autumn 2015.

2,300 responses - we were very pleased with the large number of responses.

A majority of those responding were 15-18, in post primary.

One of our most prominent findings was that most young people are aware of the existing help available but many say this isn’t enough. Worryingly 17% of all respondents said they wouldn’t seek help if suffering from a mental illness.

A big issue cited is the local provision of services 40% of young people say there aren’t enough mental health services in their local area.This is especially the case in deprived wards where this figure rises to 60%.

-46% of YP said that they think Mental health is a big issue for YP in the area where they live (more urban than rural)

-49 % said the history of the conflict has inflicted at least some negative impact on mental health in their local area.

-50% of the respondents living in the 20% most deprived wards said they do not feel there are enough MH services for YP in their area.

Tara

3 main Recommendations:

EDUCATION :

  • Need to build resilience in YP - annual workshops in schools , better training for staff / youth workers
  • Young people need educated on self-help and other coping mechanisms for ill mental health from a young age e.g. LLW classes, pastoral care
  • Proactive/ preventative approach - better advertising of existing services
  • Mental health organisations should come into schools more often and be a larger part of the curriculum -part of a preventative measure/education policy – can’t be one talk
  • Youth clubs - offer activities that contribute to positive mental health (need funding)
  • Outreach programmes to prevent young people misusing drugs and alcohol – preventative care so it won’t lead to mental ill health (PREVENTING IT SAVES YOU MORE MONEY THAN CARING FOR IT- 3.5 BILLION) – the committee has worked with homelessness and the misuse of drugs and alcohol that have led to mental ill-health but it’s not only among those who are homeless

BETTER SERVICES

  • Improved mental health = better education outcomes = better physical health = less time off work = better outcomes for economy = building a united community
  • Joined upapproach across government departments e.g. Social Development, health, education, justice etc
  • Services should be more welcoming, comfortable and accessible – more funding to better train staff – training programmes ASK YP their views
  • Survivor based support systems e.g. peer groups, coffee mornings etc.

LISTEN To YP

•What can they do? How can they help? –

  • Can committees engage more with YP?
  • incorporating youth based theme within 5 years; not just a one off situation e.g. youth and homelessness – disenfranchised youth being engaged in wider work programme with a youth based focus (more communication between yp and MLAs)
  • John O’Dowd’s anti-bullying bill – put in an amendment to put MH provision in the education policy – bullying can lead to mental ill-health
  • Rural needs bill – access to services in rural areas
  • Generalpoint - listen to us ! Voting age 16??

IF WE CAN ASK FOR 1 THING - Mental health for the whole community be a priority in the next Programme for Government 2016

THANK YOU

Welcome any questions