Young Minds are the UK's leading charity fighting for children and young people's mental health. Suicide remains the biggest killer of young people in the UK, and with the pandemic significantly worsening mental health, the work that Young Minds do has never been so important. By supporting young people and their parents alike, Young Minds aim to ensure that everybody can get the mental health support they need, when they need it, no matter what.

To help Young Minds at this crucial time, I am undertaking a 12 month challenge to fundraise for this amazing charity and raise awareness of young people's mental health. I will be completing a different sporting challenge each month for a year (March 2021-February 2022), and will share the monthly challenges and progress through this page and the Instagram page @yearforyoungminds. 

My challenge will begin with running 60.1 miles in March 2021, to raise awareness of the 601 young people under 25 who committed suicide last year (ONS, 2020). The challenges will be decided as the year progresses as they will depend on the lockdown restrictions, but I have my fingers crossed for a larger scale challenge to finish the year next February! 

Before September 2020, I struggled to run a 5k without needing a week to recover (cardio has never been my thing!). I haven't ridden a bicycle outside of a spinning class in years, and - with the exception of splashing about on holidays - I can't remember the last time I swam. I intend for the activities to be a challenge for me personally, and believe that no matter how physically difficult it gets for me, it will still be easier than the mental difficulty of those struggling with their mental health.

We live in a country where one in every six 5-16 year-olds has a mental health problem; Where the number of young people presenting at A&E with urgent mental health needs has tripled in the last ten years; Where a quarter of young women have a diagnosable mental health problem and where suicide is the single biggest killer of boys and young men (Young Minds, 2020). And these figures do not yet fully account for the young lives that have been turned upside down because of the coronavirus pandemic and the tsunami of mental health struggles anticipated as a result. More needs to be done to help. 

If you are struggling, please reach out to someone for help. There is always someone out there that wants to listen and support you, and please never be ashamed if you are struggling!

No matter how much you donate, your money will make a difference to those helped by Young Minds. Thank you for visiting my page!💛