Young Voices Rise: ARC Outreach Alliance Champions Youth Mental Health Research in Northwest London

Last month, for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Week, our Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) took a stance with their award-winning film. They wrote it, filmed it, edited it—every bit of it champions the vital role of young voices in mental health research.

Nested under our Multimorbidity and Mental Health Theme, The YPAG was established by the ARC Outreach Alliance infrastructure programme, in partnership with Listen to Act, to promote the importance of mental health research for and by children and young people.

YPAG Graphic Facilitation Illustration highlighting their priorities and other information

One in five children and young people in England aged eight to twenty-five had a probable mental disorder in 2023, with one in five children aged five to sixteen in Northwest London identified as having probable mental health disorder in 2021. That’s five children in every classroom.

Newly introduced as the ARC Outreach Alliance: Young People’s Open Minds in Northwest London (ARC Outreach Alliance), the ARC Outreach Alliance is a research group and mental health network, working in collaboration with a group of young advisors aged 14 - 25 who are living, studying or working in Northwest London.

“The young people’s advisory group is made up of young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences and links to other marginalised groups which has influenced every step of decision-making within this research.” - YPAG volunteer

'I like being part of it, it feels quite revolutionary” - YPAG volunteer

Northwest London has a high mental health burden compared to other areas in England with some boroughs experiencing high death rates among adults because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has a direct impact on children and young people’s mental health. While there is ample adult mental health research, this is not the case for children and young people. As a result, there is an urgent need for community mental health research within the local area.

Illustration Quote image from AOA member Kaden stating "Mental health is still a huge area of deficit for the youth here in the UK, both in terms of the services provided and the stigma that surrounds the subject. That’s why projects like these are massively important; they perform vital research to identify and localise the key issues so that they can be effectively mitigated. I am proud to be a part of this programme, and I hope I can help it achieve its aim to begin to tackle the colossal problems at the core of our youth mental health situation."

ARC Outreach Alliance's Aspiration

The ARC Outreach Alliance promotes the involvement of children and young people at every stage of our research. Including planning and delivering relevant activities, identifying research priorities and co-developing research and how information and research findings are disseminated. The ARC Outreach Alliance wants to ensure that mental health research addresses the changing needs of children and young people in Northwest London and that research findings are implemented and inform how resource decisions are made.

Illustration advertising 'Inequalities in mental health service utilisation by children and young people: a population survey using linked electronic health records from Northwest London, UK' - BMJ Journal

One of many research projects the Young Advisers of the ARC OUTREACH ALLIANCE have dedicated their time to with their input

Representing all Northwest London’s eight boroughs, the ARC Outreach Alliance have advised on research design, co-authored papers, received training and produced an award-winning short film to promote engagement. They have also improved access to data to inform research and are working with schools to examine the impact of health inequalities (socio-economic, neurodiversity, ethnicity) on access to and benefit from digital mental health interventions.

ARC Outreach Alliance Produces Award-Winning Short Film

Reflecting on the recent award given to the ARC Outreach Alliance from BRC inaugural PPIE Project competition, Dasha Nicholls, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Imperial College London, NIHR BRC-funded researcher and ARC Northwest London Multimorbidity & Mental Health theme lead, said:

“We are delighted to receive this PPIE award for our work on young people’s mental health, alongside our partners including Listen to Act and all the young people in our advisory group. This has very much been a team effort.

An estimated 26,163 children and young people had a mental disorder before the pandemic and between 13- 29% of under-twenties were living in poverty. This is likely to have worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic and with the cost-of-living crisis, which only highlights the importance of this work.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to the work of the ARC Outreach Alliance to date, which I know will have a huge impact on children and young people in northwest London.”

What's next for the ARC Outreach Alliance?

The ARC Outreach Alliance is presently organising a research priority workshop tailored for and delivered by young individuals during the upcoming summer season. Additionally, there are arrangements underway for a symposium event slated for autumn. On top of this, the Young Advisers are exploring the possibility of starting a podcast to engage young people in beneficial and meaningful conversations around mental health.

Have your voice raised - A Message to you from the ARC Outreach Alliance

If you’re a young person in Northwest London looking to get involved as a volunteer or if you’d like to share your story, we’d love to hear from you. Additionally, we offer expertise and consultation to policymakers and decision-makers on mental health initiatives affecting children and young people in Northwest London.

We encourage all those with a curiosity or passion for youth mental health to reach out to us at aoa@imperial.ac.uk. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and experiences to join us in our mission to promote mental health awareness and support in our community.

Whether you’d like to join our mission or just have a chat, we’d love to hear from you. The network is open to anyone with a vested interest in the mental health of children and young people in Northwest London. Take action today by reaching out to us at aoa@imperial.ac.uk. Explore our website to learn more about our initiatives, sign up for updates, or get involved.

If you require any support with your mental health, text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258

Whether you're a young person, a guardian or work with young people you can learn how to support conversations surrounding children and young people's mental health by visiting Young Minds

Associated Theme:

This news story is associated with our Multimorbidity and Mental Health theme.

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