Scouts sticking up for mental health campaign

19th April 2018 by Claire Shadbolt

Empowering young people to make a positive contribution to society has been an important part of Scouting since Scouting began.  28th Croydon Scafell troop are getting involved.

The Scouts and the local community at Our Lady of Annunciation Catholic Church signed a petition addressed to Sarah Jones MP.  It is a petition with a difference.

The campaign aims for mental and physical health to be viewed as equal priorities in the local community. The Scouts have spent time creating plasters to highlight that, while we know what to do when someone is physically hurt, things aren’t as straightforward when someone has a mental health problem. Two thirds of people with common mental health problems don’t get any help at all. It is much easier to get help for a physical health problem.

28th Croydon Scouts are taking part in the A Million Hands movement, a Scout community impact project that aims to mobilise half a million Scouts by 2018 in support of four social issues chosen by young people. As part of the A Million Hands movement, and together with Mind, SAMH and Inspire, 28th Croydon Scouts are taking part in the Sticking up for mental health campaign.

Mental health problems are common – one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. Just like we all have physical health, we all have mental health too, and just as our bodies can become unwell, so can our minds. Like physical illness, mental illness can happen to anyone, at any time, and a mental health problem can feel just as bad, or worse, as any other physical illness – only you cannot see it.

 

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MP letter March 2018