The youth group pushing mental health up the agenda

An award-winning project funded by Big Local will be featured in a CBBC documentary on Thursday, February 6 at 5pm as part of Children’s Mental Health Week and Time to Talk Day.

We Will is a campaign that was founded in December 2017 by a group of teenage students in Ewanrigg, Cumbria, to highlight the issue of youth mental health among their peers.

The group went on to make a series of short films and persuaded 80 pupils and members of staff at Cockermouth school to complete a mental health first-aid course.

The impact of We Will has spread far beyond the local community.

In 2018, the campaign was a recipient of The Diana Award – the only charity named after the late Princess of Wales, which also runs youth mentoring schemes in conjunction with businesses.

Group members were also invited to the House of Commons to discuss their campaign with MPs from both sides of the house.

They are also currently in the process of making two films to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 (May 18-24).

The CBBC programme, titled Inside My Head: Taking Control of My Anxiety – A Newsround Special, follows We Will member Molly as she meets inspiring young people who have successfully battled against anxiety, as well fitness guru Joe Wicks, health experts, and her fellow We Will group members.

If not you’re not able to tune in on Thursday, it will be available on BBC iPlayer for one month and can also be found on the CBBC website.

You can read more about the We Will group in this short blog about they started and what their aims are, or join in the conversation around #childrensmentalhealthweek online.

This piece was written by Ryan Herman, our journalist-at-large. If you have a story you would like to share, please email Ryan.