Probably around the issue of mental health.
Minutes:
Oscar Seal attended to provide the BYC (Bromley Youth Council) update concerning the mental health of young people. This was the third year in a row that BYC had focused on young people’s mental health. The Chairman said that it was appropriate that representatives from SLAM were also in attendance.
The Committee heard that the focus of the BYC campaign was on the mental health specifically of young men, as they seemed to be disproportionately affected. Bromley Youth Council wanted to explore why this was the case and why it was different for young men.
They targeted their campaign in schools and via their Instagram page to draw awareness to the relevant services available in the borough. BYC had come to the conclusion that in most cases the advice provided was too generic and was not specific enough for the individual concerned. For many young people the services were not really working and more was needed to be done to address the problems. It was noted that those young men who were experiencing mental health issues were more likely to be involved in anti-social behaviour, crime in general and in the taking of drugs. The young men affected did not seem to have much awareness of the services available to them, and in some cases did not seem to appear to want to take on the information regarding available services. Mr Seal felt that all Services needed to step up their game in order to tackle this serious problem.
In the course of their investigations, BYC liaised with ‘Bromley Y’ with whom they continued to work. Mr Seal said that it was not a ‘one glove fits all’ situation and the effect of the COVID pandemic had made one to one personal consultations difficult. The aim of BYC was to develop and improve services so that they would be more effective in helping both young men and young women who were experiencing mental health issues.
The Chairman thanked Mr Seal for his insightful update and asked if he felt there was a connection between the taking of cannabis and mental health. Mr Seal replied that young men and women took cannabis for stress relief; once they felt a relief of stress they would want to feel that again—and this was the road to addiction. He felt that the use of cannabis was increasing.
The Chairman asked what the solutions were and how this matter could be confronted. Mr Seal responded that BYC had not come up with any solutions yet, but it was important to readdress the drug culture in schools.
A Member asked if MIND had been contacted as she normally found them very helpful. Mr Seal responded that he was not aware if any contact had been made with MIND by BYC, as their main connection was with Bromley Y, but he would look into this and check. The Member said that when she was Mayor, Bromley Mind was one of the Mayoral charities that she supported and she was always willing to help Mr Seal in any way she could.
A Member enquired if any education was given in schools to explain the dangers of drug taking and to explore more healthier ways to relax. Mr Seal explained that generally speaking the information that was being fed back to young people was that drugs were bad and that they should exercise, but there was no facility to explore what was specifically beneficial to an individual person.
A Member expressed the view that Mr Seal had ‘hit the nail on the head’ and that cannabis caused depression. In her ward she was aware of people who were now in their 40s who had been smoking cannabis since they were at school and she expressed the view that now their ‘minds were gone’ and they were not really fit for anything much. They had not moved to harder drugs but their whole life was centred around the addiction to cannabis. She suggested that something like after school clubs may be a good idea where there could be an open forum so young people could discuss openly their issues and then get help. She said that she had had some dealings with Bromley Y before and that the waiting times were too long.
Mr Seal stated that BYC had met with some Councillors and that suggestions that were made to the Schools Department were taken on board. He said that BYC’s work with respect to mental health had received a mixed response from schools.
The Chairman asked if BYC were continuing their work regarding mental health into the next year. Mr Seal answered that this would depend on what the young people voted for going forward. Notwithstanding this, he would not wish to see the work abandoned completely.
The Chairman encouraged Mr Seal and BYC to ask for help if it was required.
RESOLVED that the BYC update regarding the mental health of young people be noted.