WORLD Mental Health Day marks the perfect opportunity for the Evening Mail to update readers on our Healthy Young Minds campaign.

The campaign was set up in July to draw attention to the unacceptable situations many families in south Cumbria experience in getting help for mentally unwell and vulnerable children and young people.

Long delays in seeing psychiatrists, staff shortages, a huge surge in cases, and poor communication between services have led to unprecedented problems within the sector.


Healthy Young Minds was formed on the back of the many complaints the Evening Mail received from these families, many of which were focused on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Cumbria.

So far the campaign has:

Highlighted the problems that exist within the service on a local and national level;

Revealed how some children who need to be admitted to psychiatric wards are forced to go as far away as Edinburgh and London due to Cumbria having no “tier four” hospital services;

Given a voice to some of those affected for the first time, including a family who are leaving Cumbria to get help for their self harming daughter, and a mother who claims her daughter’s life was saved by SAFA – a service that receives no statutory funding;

Gained support from all three south Cumbria MPs – John Woodcock, Jamie Reed and Tim Farron;

Got the backing of Alistair Campbell and the National Autistic Society;

Prompted a listening forum on September 29 hosted by Furness Carers, bringing together parents, professionals and NHS leaders to look at the problems;

Generated 600 signatures in a petition that calls for urgent improvements and for the government to look at the funding formula.

Work is also continuing within the campaign to develop a strategy to help parents identify early signs of emotional distress among children, and to provide help to address particular issues like cyber bullying and social media.

James Higgins, editor of the North-West Evening Mail, has urged residents to sign our petition and add their voice.

He said: “The level of support for our Healthy Young Minds campaign since it was launched three weeks ago has been incredible, and underlines the need for the issues we have raised to be tackled.”

Click here  to sign the petition online or you can sign it in person at the following four venues in Barrow: the Evening Mail reception in Abbey Road, Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock’s office in Hartington Street, Self-harm Awareness for All (SAFA) in Duke Street, and the Barrow & District Disability Association in School Street.