Southampton charity No Limits backs national campaign on youth mental health  

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition has put out an urgent call for more investment in young people’s mental health support. Local charity No Limits is part of the coalition and joins almost 300 youth and mental health charities calling on political parties to commit to improving mental health outcomes for young people, children and babies.

Around one in five young people in the UK suffer from poor mental health, with long wait times for support causing an estimated 75% of them to experience deterioration in their problem. Approaching the general election, the coalition’s manifesto asks all political parties to make commitments to improving mental health, including:

• Giving an additional £1.7bn to Integrated Care Systems to deliver a comprehensive mental health pathway for young people aged 0-25.
• Embed whole-educational approaches to mental health and wellbeing across all education settings.
• Increase the provision of early intervention support in the community through the national roll-out of early support hubs in every local area.
• Bring forward reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, to ensure that children and young people’s rights are protected and promoted, and that they receive high quality and compassionate care.

No Limits provides early intervention through an early support hub, available face-to-face and virtually for young people across Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton. Support is impactful, with 74% of young people seeing their stress levels improving by the end of their support from No Limits, while 61% had increased confidence and 59% felt they had more control over their life.

However, the charity is seeing continuous rises in the number of young people wanting emotional wellbeing support – the demand for help increased by 21% in the 2022-23 financial year (3,954), compared to that in 2021-22. Furthermore, the complexity of young people’s issues has increased since Covid, meaning they spend more time getting support. Big issues include anxiety, stress, depression and suicidal feelings, with many young people experiencing multiple issues at once. 

Natalie Webb, No Limits CEO, said “With our open access support, young people can be supported by our youth workers without waiting or even needing to make an appointment. Consequently, we see first-hand the growing need and increasing complexities of young people’s mental health needs. It is vital that this issue is tackled by the next government, so we wholeheartedly support the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition’s manifesto.”

• A full copy of the Coalition’s manifesto can be found here: cypmhc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/A-Manifesto-for-babies-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health.pdf
• No Limits is a charity offering support to children and young people under the age of 26 who live in Southampton and Hampshire. Services include: an Advice Centre in central Southampton; counselling to young people county-wide; advice on housing, benefits and debt; DASH alcohol and drugs service; sexual health and relationships services; homelessness services; employment-seeking support; support for young parents; washing facilities; access to food in a crisis; family support.
• Find out more: www.nolimitshelp.org.uk