With young people seeking NHS mental health support now faced with a five-year waiting list, an Oxfordshire charity has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the issue.
Oxfordshire Mind, which has assisted more than 1,000 young adults across Oxfordshire and Berkshire West in 2024, has launched a new campaign to highlight the scale of the mental health crisis and its toll on the NHS.
The campaign comes ahead of Christmas, a time which 26 per cent of people find negatively impacts their mental health, YouGov data shows.
This is down to a combination of darkness, bad weather, and financial concerns intensifying existing issues.
To illustrate this, the charity has created a short film depicting the growing pressure on young people and the five-year waiting time for NHS mental health support.
The film asks the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
The charity's initiative is based on mental health forums conducted earlier in the year, which involved more than 40 young adults aged 11 to 18 from the region.
The discussions highlighted a significant disconnect between the mental health needs of young people and the understanding of these needs by adults in their lives.
The campaign aims to bridge this gap and foster greater intergenerational connection, with the ultimate objective of ensuring young people feel heard, understood, and supported.
Jess Willsher, CEO of Oxfordshire Mind, said: "Unsupported mental health issues can be hugely distressing and impactful for individuals and their families, five-year waiting lists for young people who need mental health support aren’t acceptable – no one wants this.
"We know that with the right support at the right time young people can and do improve their mental health and go on to thrive."
One of Oxfordshire Mind's support recipients added: "If I’d have had proactive, early intervention when I’d have first reached out, I believe it would have really helped.
"I didn't need a huge level of support back then, I just needed someone to help, talk to me, give me the tools I needed to be well.
"By the time I got the support, I didn't even want to get better anymore. I was beyond that. I had no trust in the services I felt left behind by.
"The impact this had on not just me, but everyone around me has been life changing."
The charity relies on public donations to continue providing immediate mental health support to those in need.
Its fundraising campaign is seeking donations throughout November and December, with all funds raised set to support Oxfordshire Mind’s mental health initiatives throughout 2025 and beyond.
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