Our panel event with @YoungMindsUK & @childrensociety is about to begin!

We're discussing the need for inclusive, open-access mental health drop-in hubs for children & young people.

Learn more in our blog https://www.youthaccess.org.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/post/58-young-peoples-mental-health-needs-are-growing-open-access-services-are-the-solution

...and follow for updates from the event!

Our chair for today, @EmmaThomasYN from @YoungMindsUK is kicking us off.

"Too many young people are left to deal with mental health challenges until they are deemed to be ill enough for support."

"We need to complement @nhs treatment model with open-access, early interventions."

We need to go further to ensure that young people can access support in the community.

- @EmmaThomasYN

"Children and young people's mental health should never be a political football."

Minister @dianabarran and shadow minister @DrRosena are giving their opening remarks. Both are looking forward to listening to the different perspectives that will be shared in today's panel.

Now we're hearing from Ben, one of @YoungMindsUK's young activists.

"The waiting time is a pivotal time in a young person's journey to mental health. In that time things can escalate quickly." That's why early intervention should be available.

Next up is @moncoll, CEO of Youth Access member @YPASLiverpool.

Monique is talking about the unique approach to young people's mental health support that has been adopted in Liverpool, and how it relates to our #YIACS model.

Now Daisy, one of @YPASLiverpool's young ambassadors, is talking about her long journey to getting the right kind of support.

"Even when I was waiting for support from YPAS I was able to access other services, which made a big difference from my experience with CAMHS."

Final panellist is @ChildSocPol's @RichardCrellin.

"Despite the progress made in the last decade, Covid has shone a new lens on the issue."

We are seeing unprecedented numbers of young people with low wellbeing. If they don't get support, this escalates to more severe problems.

"We want to improve young people's life satisfaction. Open access hubs are a big part of that."

As we #BuildBackBetter, we need to ensure that support is available in communities, as well as clinic and schools - @RichardCrellin

The first question is about the importance of making support accessible outside of schools. Both our young panellists, Ben and Daisy, agree that there should be different routes to access support quickly, but that different types of support should be joined up.

Now @RichardCrellin is answering a question about the role of youth services in providing support. Richard argues that the youth sector has a lot of potential to support young people with their mental health.

. @DrRosena is asked about the importance of community support:

"It's really important to centre the people we are trying to support in driving forward how we support them." Grassroots organisations are best placed to do this, but haven't had the support they've needed.

. @dianabarran on the role of the youth sector:

"The role of the youth sector in building resilience is crucial." Evidence suggests that young people who are active in community initiatives (e.g. in response to Hurricane Katrina in the US) have better outcomes in education etc.

A question for @dianabarran on funding for community services beyond the pandemic:

"The overall funding model for charities is unlikely to change." Gov. has given significant support to charities, and single biggest chunk of @TNLComFund-administered fund was for young people.

"Going forward, there are three buckets we are looking at to support the sector." 1) Time - volunteering etc. 2) Skills - data and digital. 3) Money - philanthropy and grants through to impact investment.

- @dianabarran

. @dianabarran: Young people's mental health is central to the government's "levelling up" agenda.

@DrRosena welcomes Baroness Barran's comments, but asks her to feed back to minister for mental health @NadineDorries. Baroness Barran says she will meet with Ms Dorries very soon.

. @moncoll is asked about referral routes and how @YPASLiverpool works with GPs.

Monique talks about the various referral routes available to young people, including through schools and GPs.

Our young panellists are asked about the accessibility of services. They tell us about the need to ensure that services are widely publicised, and easy to reach independently without relying on parents' support.

Our interim CEO @BarryWilliams7 asks how we can ensure the kind of joined-up model in Liverpool can be expanded to the rest of the country.

@moncoll points to Youth Access members providing support across the country - but funding is needed to increase provision further.

. @richardcrellin takes up the funding point: It's difficult to deliver services sustainably because funding comes from so many different sources. Current model acts as disincentive for experimentation. In other countries, funding is far simpler.

. @Kadra_A_: what can we do to get gov. to invest in workforce at #YIACS and other community services.

@RichardCrellin: it's hard to find practitioners who can work with young people.Lots of workers in the youth sector have this expertise who could be skilled up in mental health.

. @DrRosena: "Everyone has the best intentions when it comes to young people's wellbeing - but they might not understand the consequences of bureaucratic systems." It's up to stakeholders to look at how to make processes simpler for service providers.

"We're all working towards the same goal."

An excellent and insightful panel event comes to a close. Thank you to our co-hosts @YoungMindsUK & @childrensociety, our chair @EmmaThomasYN and our wonderful panellists @dianabarran, @DrRosena, @moncoll, Ben and Daisy!