The winners of the National Youth Work Awards have been revealed

Projects that support young people with their mental health have been celebrated.

From a youth project in North Berwick who have succeeded in a 30% drop in referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), through to a programme delivering a 90% reduction in substance misuse in Galashiels, last night’s (12 March) National Youth Work Awards ceremony celebrated the outstanding youth workers, many of whom are on the front line of tackling an increasing mental health crisis in Scotland.

These awards come in the wake of new figures last week, which showed the number of children and adolescents waiting to see a mental health specialist has reached record numbers. The National Youth Work Awards celebrates and recognises the positive impact Scotland’s 70,000 youth workers have on the lives and mental wellbeing of young people.

Winning the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Award are Young Movers (YoMo) from Glasgow. YoMo’s youth health champions have taken peer education to a new level, building local partnerships to develop issue-based workshops delivered by young volunteers for young people. Its success has been such that the NHS has asked it to provide the youth engagement for the new £47million North East Health Hub, due to open in Glasgow in 2023.

See Me Scotland has been named Youth Work Team of the Year, with one of their colleagues, Rebecca Johnson, picking up Scotland’s Volunteer Youth Worker of the Year.

This year, See Me youth volunteers have worked to influence policy and practice areas such as the Mental Health Act Review, a review of SIGN guidelines on eating disorders and making recommendations to the programming board of the world’s first emoji-powered jukebox, Feels FM.

Volunteer of the Year winner Rebecca Johnson contributed 700 hours of voluntary work to 1,200 school pupils in North Ayrshire and Borders last year. Rebecca has championed ending mental health stigma and discrimination through one-to-one support and supporting other volunteers across Scotland.

In Galashiels, TD1 Youth Hub – Young Men’s Project won the National Youth Justice and Prevention Award for its outstanding work in improving the mental and physical wellbeing of local young men. The project puts a focus on positive male role models and one-to-one support, resulting in a 96% attendance rate, 100% reduction in criminal activity with 90% reporting they had stopped or reduced drug taking.

Martin Lahiffe of North Berwick Youth Project also picked up a national award in recognition of his partnership with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and North Berwick High School. Martin’s dedication to improving the mental health of young people and the power of great youth work has resulted in a 30% drop in referrals to CAHMS and a reduction in unauthorised school absences of 70%.

Laura Sharpe, education and young people’s manager at See Me Scotland, said: “Rates of mental health in young people are increasing, with 40% of the school age population self-reporting and 20% experiencing diagnosed mental health conditions. Mental health is a huge issue for young people, but they often feel that it is an issue, which is not taken seriously. Young people would like more opportunity to have open and honest conversations about mental health in environments where they feel safe to disclose or talk about mental health, and we must create these opportunities for them.”

Tim Frew, chief executive of YouthLink Scotland, said: “Youth work is one of our great national assets, and it’s clear that this approach is helping many young people who are struggling with mental health, the stats speak for themselves. We need to see more investment in early intervention and prevention, something the youth work sector is incredibly experienced in and well placed to build on its current success.”