1 in 5 young people are likely to have a mental health condition, up from 1 in 9 in 2017 (NHS Digital, November 2023). Change needs to happen.
We believe young people have the solutions to this crisis, and to truly understand and help their mental health, we need to work closely with them, empowering them to have a voice and be heard.
Please have a watch of this short video, we hope the words from Sam, Tendo and Charlotte resonate with you, help you realise you’re not alone, and that you can overcome anything.
“Music is like free therapy.”
“Growing up, I had a lot of mental health issues, feeling unwanted, feeling like there was no place for me in society.”
We’re constantly exploring the connection between music/creativity and mental health. One of the key areas of our work is exploring how creative music-making has a positive impact on young people’s mental health, and we are continually developing projects and programmes that help us understand and assess this impact, with outcomes including greater self-expression, reduced anxiety, and better social connectedness with others.
We want to actively engage, understand, and openly discuss mental health, both within the charity and with everyone we work with.
“When I was like 8, I wrote my first song. I just remember spending the whole day writing it. In that moment, it just took me to another place.”
“All this stuff that’s happening around me didn’t matter.”
Exploring the connection between music and mental health: A Big Conversation
We took part in A Big Conversation, a youth-led research project that brought together Lewisham partners: Lewisham Music, The Albany, SOUNDS LiKE CHAOS, Heart n Soul, and Lewisham Youth Theatre, to better understand the role arts and creativity play in the mental health of young people.
The project created a safe space for the programmes’ participants to: reflect on their experiences, share the impact of participating on them and the people around them, and explore their hopes for the development of future, similar programmes.
“Music has always been the solution. I feel like if you don’t have someone to talk to, then it’s me expressing myself. It’s the way I live and breathe.”
Throughout the project, participants spoke candidly about their own experiences of ill mental health, the value of the organisation they had been working with, and the importance of funding for creative opportunities as a vehicle for improving mental health.
As part of this project, we employed and trained an EPIC team of Young Producers who co-created Front Line Young Minds, a podcast series looking at different aspects of music and its relationship with mental health and wellbeing.
Useful links
Here are a few useful links where you can find more support and information about mental health.
If you’re struggling with anything then please reach out, if you don’t want to talk then we can at least offer a safe space for you to find a positive outlet, and we’ll be here to support you.
