My outtake on YoungMinds #EndTheWait Campaign (20/3/23)

*Just so we're clear, I'm not fully back on here just yet. I'm only making a brief pop up on here, because I want to share my opinion on something that is important/concerning*

I was meant to make this post on Monday, but I never got round to doing so until now. Better late than never I suppose.

On Monday, (20/3/23) local MP's were invited to attend the Houses of Parliament to participate in YoungMinds' EndTheWait Campaign.

Why? This is because the government has not been taking people's mental health seriously enough. The government had opened their eyes up to what was going on, and said that they will make a solid promise to end the wait for people's mental health to be seen to back in January of this year. Unfortunately, that solid promise had been abolished soon after, as the government decided to make other things their priorities instead.

Last summer alone, including the time where the government first delivered its "end the wait" promise, young people have not been getting the much needed support for the following 3 reasons: Didn't feel supported by their GP when trying to seek support, waited over a month or simply turned away when trying to seek support. (Statistics will be shown in the attached link to YoungMinds webpage below this post)

I, as an individual with mental health, find it shocking to say the very least. I actually find the government's actions more appalling, as people (whom had tried seeking support) out there are still suffering with their mental health because of the poor choices that the government had made. I personally feel as though no one has the right to suffer with their mental health due to not being enough support. It's shameful, and something needs to be done to improve on it.

As soon as YoungMinds had announced that the government had broke their promise to "EndTheWait", they sent out the message to everyone that they booked the Houses of Parliament for the 20/3/23, so local MP's would be in attendance to discuss young people's ongoing mental health problems, mental health support & making their voices heard. This was followed by getting young people (including myself) to sign a petition to "EndTheWait" on mental health treatment, as there were a lot of people suffering enough due to the mentioned above circumstances. Yes, I did sign the petition, as I wanted my voice to be heard, as well as participate in the campaign. I feel it was absolutely the right & necessary choice of action, in a bid to hold the government accountable in this manner.

The next part of the campaign, had involved inviting local MP's to the EndTheWait event at Parliament. This also included writing a letter to local MP's explaining why they should attend this event. I wanted to invite my local MP to this event, as again, it was only sensible that they address myself & other young people's concerns over ongoing mental health problems we still face today in society. Like everyone else in this campaign, I thought it was a good idea that local MP's needed to be involved in young people's issues, such as mental health. In my view, if MP's can debate about everyday issues in our country day in, day out as part of their job description, then I don't see any reason why MP's can't step away to address young people's mental health concerns. 

If you've finished reading up to this point, thank you for taking the time to read through. Remember, everyone has their own opinions when it comes to talking about something like this, so please don't be offended in any kind of way. 

Here's the webpage link: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/support-us/join-the-movement/end-the-wait/