The Isle of Wight Youth Trust will survey young Islanders about their mental health through the month of July as part of an ambitious Island-wide project to understand the mental health needs, experiences and views of young Islanders.
Following on from the successful 2017 and 2019 Island Youth Mental Health Censuses, through which a combined total of over 7,000 responses were received, the Youth Trust is now asking young Islanders to complete the 2021 Island Youth Mental Health Census.
Youth Trust Advocacy and Development Manager, Felicity Radak, says that the Census provides a vital opportunity for young people to have their voices heard and shape the direction of the services that support them.
“As a proudly youth-led organisation, we at the Youth Trust feel strongly that young people should be setting the agenda for the services that they may access. We want to hear directly from our young people, what are their experiences and where are the gaps in meeting their needs. Through our Census, we are asking young Islanders to share their views and help us make sure that we are delivering the best services possible.”
“We have built upon our previous surveys, which were co-designed with young people, the ensure we get a snapshot of young people’s mental health at this moment in time. In addition to asking about general wellbeing, we are asking some hard-hitting questions about experiences with suicide, self-harm, relationships and eating habits.”
“We are currently seeing an increase in demand for our services, with over 100 young people reaching out for support each month. We know that, many of the reasons that young people seek support remain the same, but we also know that the past year has been unlike any other. Now, more than ever, young people’s voices need to be heard.”
Felicity adds:
“This is a community effort. We have had input in designing this survey from young people, schools, Public Health, and a range of professionals We will also have support from other services, through the Mental Health Support Team collaborative project, to deliver the Census. Schools will be encouraging students to take part and Public Health will be supporting with analysis of the data.”
Article continues below this advertisement “Whilst we are reaching a lot of young people in schools, it is harder to reach those who aren’t currently attending school, those who are over 18 and those who may have experience of their voice being overlooked. To include as many young people as possible, we are offering the chance to win one of two Amazon vouchers for anyone completing the Census online and would encourage all under 25s to get involved.”
Young Islanders can anonymously complete the census online at www.iowyouthtrust.co.uk/census.
The Youth Trust will be publicly releasing findings from this Census later in the year.
you ought to be preparing youngsters for the adult world of work, where soft soapy hand wringers are generally not welcome and it is survival of the fittest – either you meet your targets and provide the contractual obligations that you agreed to at interview and job acceptance or you leave through the exit with the sack.
the adult world is full of people who need the business they work for to succeed so that they can continue to put food on their tables and pay their bills – they do not need their time taken up and the business risking failure because some whiny teenager is taking up everyones time with their issues.
Have you got any children? I hope not, for their sake, you are so bitter and full of judgemental vengeance, I bet you are still a virgin,sad little person x