Why early mental health support must meet young people where they are
Children and young people are not failing to access mental health support. Too often, the system is failing to reach them.
That is one of the clearest messages from Meet Me Where I Am, a new report from The Children’s Society looking at why under-served children and young people in Northern Ireland can struggle to access the mental health and wellbeing support they need.
The report highlights barriers that many working with children and young people will recognise: high thresholds, fragmented referral routes, long waits, short-term funding and services that can require children to fit around systems rather than systems adapting to them.
It also highlights what makes a difference. Trust and relationships matter.
For children and young people, support is not just about what is offered. It is also about who offers it, where it happens and whether there is enough time to build trust.
A consistent relationship with a trusted adult can be hugely important, particularly for children who may already have experienced instability or who do not feel comfortable engaging with more formal services.
At MACS, this is something we see through Space to Grow, delivered in partnership with The Children’s Society. The programme provides early intervention and wellbeing support for children and young people, working flexibly around their individual needs and circumstances.
Rather than waiting until difficulties escalate, the focus is on building relationships early, creating safe spaces and helping children develop the skills and confidence they need to manage challenges in their lives.
Laura Spiers, Area Manager for Space to Grow, said:
“Children and young people consistently show us that effective support begins with trust, consistency and connection. They tell us they want help before challenges escalate and support delivered in spaces where they feel safe and understood. This report highlights the importance of breaking down the barriers that currently stand in their way and ensuring that early intervention is accessible to every child and young person who needs it.”
That approach is having a measurable impact, with 82% of participants who completed Space to Grow support experiencing improved mental health and wellbeing outcomes.
Support needs to fit around young people’s lives.
One of the strongest findings in Meet Me Where I Am is that under-served children and young people are often expected to navigate systems that were not designed with their circumstances in mind.
Rigid referral processes, reliance on particular gateways to support and eligibility thresholds can all create additional barriers. For a child or family already dealing with poverty, family pressures, educational challenges or other difficulties, navigating a complex system can become another challenge in itself.
The report makes the case for a different approach: support that is local, accessible, flexible and community-based, with different routes into services and opportunities to access help before reaching crisis point. This is particularly important when working with children whose needs may not always be immediately visible.
The importance of early intervention
Northern Ireland continues to experience significant levels of mental ill-health among children and young people, while demand for services remains high.
Early intervention cannot solve every challenge within the wider mental health system, but it can make a significant difference.
When children receive the right support earlier, there is an opportunity to prevent difficulties escalating, strengthen relationships, improve wellbeing and give young people practical tools that can support them into the future.
There is also a wider case for investing in prevention. The report highlights research estimating that every £1 invested in early support can generate £14 in wider benefits. But for early intervention to work, services need stability.
Short-term funding makes it more difficult for organisations to retain experienced staff, develop trusted relationships within communities and give children and families the consistency they need. The report therefore calls for longer-term funding cycles for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing services.
Listening to children and young people
Perhaps most importantly, Meet Me Where I Am reinforces the need to design support around the experiences of children and young people themselves.
We need to keep asking what makes support feel accessible.
- Who do children trust?
- Where do they feel comfortable?
- What prevents them from asking for help?
- And how can services respond earlier rather than expecting a child to reach a particular threshold before they are eligible for support?
These are not small questions, but they are essential if we want a mental health and wellbeing system that works for every child.
At MACS, our experience through Space to Grow continues to show the value of relationship-based, flexible and preventative support.
The message from this report is simple but important: we need to meet children and young people where they are.
Read The Children’s Society’s full Meet Me Where I Am report here: