HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT
This toolkit is designed to give you the information and tools you need in advocating for youth mental health. You don’t have to read the whole document, or even a whole section. You may just want a bit of information on a really specific topic, like how to run a social media campaign, and if that’s the case, you can jump straight to that section. Below is a quick tool to help you work out where to start. Once you follow one of the links to a section, you can then follow further links to specific sub-sections that you are interested in. So, if you want to learn about social media campaigns, you would click on the link for section four: Doing advocacy, and then click on the link to the subsection called Using social and digital media for advocacy.
INTRODUCTION
Youth mental health is a significant global issue that needs local, national and international action. A significant proportion of young people (aged 12–25-years-old) around the world are experiencing poor mental health. One in two young people under the age of 25 will experience mental ill-health at some point, and 75 per cent of mental illnesses begin before the age of 25.1 Many do not have access to the services they need and the true prevalence and impact of youth mental ill-health is still not widely recognised. This resource provides information for individuals and organisations around the world to communicate with their community leaders about the importance of prioritising and delivering of affordable, accessible and effective mental health care for young people in their country. This resource has been developed for and by young people, but can be used by anyone interested in advocating for better mental health care, including people who have never been involved in advocacy before, as well as more experienced advocates.