Suchismita Majumdar, Research & Policy Officer, ESDEG
ESDEG is proud to be part of the London Challenge Poverty Week campaign and we would like to contribute to this campaign by launching our report on students’ mental health.
We asked more than a hundred students at a West London High School what strategies or resources have helped them improve their well-being in high school?
Since the survey shows that the youth prefer speaking to their own friends/peers along with their families, it is imperative that the youth are involved in the mental health awareness and support initiative. One of the recommendations given by the Headteacher of the West London High School where the survey was conducted is to select and train Youth Ambassadors for Mental Health – They could be trained during half-term and provided with an identifying badge or a pin which will help others students identify the ambassadors and approach them.
Endorsing this recommendation, ESDEG’s Youth Mentor Mr. Ahmed Hadhoud is of the view that the ambassadors could play a vital role in detecting hidden mental health struggles and providing peers with moral, emotional and practical support. However, he cautions that due to the stigma attached to mental health, the title ‘Mental Health Ambassadors’ might be counter-productive. Ahmed suggests that the students should be encouraged to come up with a title of their own choosing. This exercise would not only increase their participation in the process, but also give them a sense of ownership.
Adding further to this point Ahmed suggests a student led (under supervision) mental health peer support group could be established online (like a WhatsApp group) to share information, mutual aid, peer support, signposting etc. in addition to the in-person meetings or ‘speak to me walks and talks’ which could be facilitated and supervised by the school.
If you want to know more about the background of the students studying at the West London High School where we conducted our survey, the barriers facing these students, the services provided by the school and ESDEG, more about the survey and the answers we received from the students and the list of recommendations please read the full report.
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