Improve Mental Health Services for Kids in Scotland

Children in Scotland are reaching breaking point. Our mental health services are simply too stretched to help every child who needs them. That means children with depression, anxiety or eating disorders aren’t getting the help they need.

Right now, the Scottish Government is deciding what to spend taxpayers’ money on for the next year. A huge petition will show the Scottish Government we expect them to give young people’s mental health services the money they need. If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures by the end of the week, we’ll deliver it straight to the Scottish Government.

If you think every child should get help when they’re ill, please will you sign the petition? It takes less than a minute:

SIGN THE PETITION

Panic attacks or eating disorders are hard enough for adults to cope with. For an eight-year-old – confused, feeling alone and vulnerable – they can be unbearable. But with more money, Scotland’s kids could get better mental healthcare from life-saving services like therapy and schemes in schools to spot problems early on.

This is one Edinburgh mum’s story of what happens to children without proper care: “If my son had been given help sooner, he would not have become as ill as he did. He could not see how ill he was and it was a massive struggle to eventually get him sectioned. A big move, too late, but he had the right to mental health. He was ill for years – a lot of his teenage years and the best part of his twenties. What a waste.”

Those of us who live with mental health issues have suffered stigma for centuries. But in the past few years, thousands of people across Scotland have stepped forward to prove that mental health problems are no different to appendicitis or the flu – and deserve equal treatment.

Last year, 10,000 people who are part of 38 Degrees shared our own stories with the Scottish Government consultation on mental health. Now, the Scottish Government are wavering about whether to give our mental health services the money they desperately need. Let’s make sure they do the right thing.