The youth mental health crisis isn’t just someone else’s problem – all of us can make a difference

A solo row of 3,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic ocean will be hard but I take inspiration from young people who have overcome mental health difficulties

Bernie Hollywood will row across the Atlantic to raise awareness of youth mental health (#BoatofHope Team)

Across the UK and worldwide, we are facing one of the most challenging times in living memory in terms of the mental health of our young people. Insufficient public resources and increased emotional and financial strain as a result of Covid-19 have meant that our health services are struggling to cope with the rising demand for youth mental health support.

Social distancing restrictions preventing young people from socialising and interacting with their peers face-to-face, as well as uncertainty over exams and concern for loved ones, have placed a monumental strain upon young people’s mental wellbeing.

Just last week, alarming figures have revealed that NHS mental health referrals for young people have almost doubled in the wake of Covid-19, hitting a record 200,000 in the past three months. A report from the children’s commissioner for England in the same week highlighted that a shocking one in five children aged nine-17 are unhappy with their mental health. Many of us who either have children or spend time with them will most likely have seen evidence of this struggle with our own eyes.

With data as daunting as this, it is tempting to be frightened into paralysis – after all, what can one person do to solve such a huge problem? Rather than give in to despair, however, I firmly believe that the answer lies in giving young people hope. If we are to make a real difference to young people’s lives, it’s time that we all talked about mental health more openly and freely – and this is a responsibility we should all share.

I’ve seen how simply engaging young people in conversations about their mental health can prove transformational for them, so what I really hope is that families, friends and communities bring these discussions into mainstream conversations, and help banish the stigma around admitting to suffering from poor mental health.

Mental health should not be a taboo subject. We need to show young people that it really is OK to not be OK – to be experiencing anguish, worry, and unhappiness, among many other feelings. And we need to reassure them that there are people around them who will listen and who care for them.

We shouldn’t wait for a young person to be in crisis before we start these conversations. Instead, we should work to create a culture that offers support before things start to spiral out of control. That means learning to talk about mental wellbeing with young people from a very early age.

As a father myself, I understand how difficult and awkward these conversations might feel at first; but having seen the benefits they can bring, I also know how essential they are.

In an ongoing era of uncertainty for many young people, I’d like to encourage them and all of us to focus on hope – that wonderfully powerful emotion that can spur us on to overcome extreme adversity.

I founded the Boat of Hope campaign to offer young people hope by opening up these conversations and raising awareness of young people’s mental health. As I take on the Talisker Whisky Challenge – a solo row of 3,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic ocean – in December next year, I expect there will be many moments of fear and even despair. However, I have been lucky enough to meet with several young people who have managed to pull through extremely challenging difficulties, and I know that their stories will be an inspiration to me, and give me hope when I need it. If the Boat of Hope campaign offers a ray of hope to just one young person who might feel alone and struggling, then I know it will all be worth it.

The figures on the damage that the pandemic has inflicted on young people’s mental health are indeed shocking – but we can all do something to help. Let’s get the conversation around mental health started, and help bring hope to children and young people who need it most.

Bernie Hollywood is planning to row across the Atlantic in December 2022, raising vital funds for charities Samaritans and LOVE Rowing and awareness of youth mental health in the process. His specially commissioned Boat of Hope is being unveiled at the National Maritime Museum on 12 October 2021. For more information or to donate go to boatofhope.com