MP Zarah Sultana praises Coventry's 'fantastic' Positive Youth Foundation and calls for more mental health cash - The Coventry Observer

MP Zarah Sultana praises Coventry's 'fantastic' Positive Youth Foundation and calls for more mental health cash

Coventry Editorial 27th Jun, 2021   0

THE MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana has called for more funding for mental health support among young people and has praised the city’s Positive Youth Foundation (PYF).

Ms Sultana spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on children and young people’s mental health support, calling a decade of Conservative cuts a ‘scandal’.

She said statistics showed one in five people aged 16 to 24 and one in six school aged children had mental ill health prior to the pandemic but that had worsened over the past 18 months.

She cited issues including university students trapped in accommodation, two thirds of jobs lost were among the under 25s and children had been stuck in over-crowded home with over-stretched parents.




She praised the ‘fantastic’ PYF which is based in her constituency and provides opportunities and activities for young people in the city.

Ms Sultana recently visited the organisation where she saw the ‘confidence and support’ staff and volunteers gave to young people.


“I’m so thankful that we have organisations like Positive Youth Foundation in Coventry, which does amazing work supporting our young people, but the Government needs to do it play its part.

“Funding mental health services and tackling its root causes, from poverty to discrimination.”

On March 27, the Government announced a ‘Mental Health Recovery Plan’ backed by £500million.

It said £13million would ensure young adults aged 18 to 25, including university students, were supported with tailored mental health services, helping bridge the gap between children’s and adult services.

And it included £2.5million to pilot new approaches to support children who have experienced complex trauma.

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