To mark Children’s Mental Health Week 2022, Neil Bibby MSP visited a stand in the Scottish Parliament, organised by Place2Be, a leading children’s mental health charity providing support in schools across Scotland.
Place2Be launched the first ever Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting children and young people’s mental health. 2022 marked the eighth year of the awareness week and this year’s theme, Growing Together, explored the importance of emotional growth and finding ways to help each other grow.
Over 50 members of the Scottish Parliament met Place2Be representatives in the Garden Lobby to find out more the charity’s work promoting wellbeing within the school community. As one in six children now have a diagnosable mental health issue, the event was a vital opportunity to learn about Place2Be’s important work and to discuss what more can be done to address this growing need.
Sahir Permall, Director for Place2Be in Scotland said “It was fantastic to welcome so many MSPs to our event and inform them about the work we do to improve children’s mental health. It is vital that we all work to address the stigma and to increase understanding of the importance of supporting and addressing mental health from an early age, to avoid problems escalating in adulthood.”
West Scotland Labour MSP Neil Bibby said:
“It was great to talk with Place2Be to mark Children’s Mental Health Week. This fantastic charity do vital work to support children, families and teachers.
The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people has been an issue since long before the pandemic, but of course COVID has taken a serious toll. Timely access to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is needed now more than ever.”
You can find out more at childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk