Caring about young people’s mental health

Youth Mental Health Day, marked every 19 September, is a day that reminds us how crucial it is to take care of the emotional wellbeing of young people. We are urging young people to check if they are eligible for our benefits that could provide valuable support if they have mental health conditions.

Young people face a lot of different pressures and challenges, including stress and anxiety around school, friends, social media, family issues, and concerns about their future.

This year’s Youth Mental Health Day theme is #BeBrave. Whether it’s building social confidence through learning to work together on team tasks or learning to have the courage to fail by doing something new no matter what the outcome, being brave can means something different to everyone.

Mental health conditions can impact young people’s lives in different ways. Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment help with extra costs that disabled people experience. For example, these disability benefits could help pay for therapy, travel to get to support groups or taking part in activities, all of which can help to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Young Carer Grant is also available for 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds who spend an average of 16 hours caring for a person or people who receive a disability benefit. Sometimes, the stress of caring for someone can negatively impact mental health. Young carers can apply if they are at school, in further education, employed or unemployed. Young people can apply once a year as long as they remain eligible, and they can spend the £359.65 payment however they choose.

We recognise the importance of having a full understanding of mental health conditions in order to best support young people and make sure they get the financial support they are entitled to when applying for our benefits.

We employ an in-house team who have experience of working in mental health who provide advice to client advisors, as well as holding learning sessions to share their experience and expertise.

Allie McGinty, Education and Development Lead within Health & Social Care Operations shares how she works to support young people:

“We want to ensure young people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect when applying for Child or Adult Disability Payment.

When applying for one of our disability payments our clients or their representatives are asked to send in supporting information with their application to help us reach a decision quickly.

This can take many forms, but some examples could be Care Plans, letters from family members or other supports that the young person may have, information from educational psychologists, social work services, consultant psychiatrists and in- patient services.”

To find out more about our benefits and apply online, over the phone or book an appointment to apply in-person, people can visit mygov.scot/benefits or call us free on 0800 182 2222.