Mental health of black and ethnic minority young people ignored, claims study

The mental health of black and minority ethnic (BME) children and young people is being ignored by services including education, social care and youth justice, a report has claimed.

The study by health inequalities charity the Afiya Trust argues that professionals give insufficient consideration to the mental health needs of BME children and young people because of their age and ethnicity.

It warned that although 20 per cent of children and young people have a mental health problem, there are no statistics on how many BME children and young people are affected. This is despite the fact that government figures on the prevalence of mental health disorders are produced for BME adults.

“Without this information it is difficult to gauge the level of need and necessary developments in provision to meet that need,” the report said.

The report added that risk factors for mental health problems in children and young people listed in the government’s current mental health strategy should include racism, while BME young people should be categorised as a “high risk group”.

It warned that this omission disregards the fact that BME children and young people are over-represented in the youth justice system, looked-after provision and school exclusions, all of which have links to poor mental health.

Patrick Vernon, chief executive of The Afiya Trust, said BME children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is being “systematically failed” across education, criminal justice, health and social care services.

“The report captures the challenges they face, the ineffectiveness of service provision and the woeful lack of the most basic information about them,” he said.

Report author Mhemooda Malek added: “The overall picture is that mainstream public services and programmes, with some notable exceptions, are failing to meet the mental health needs of BME children and young people. They are more likely to come to the attention of services at the point of crisis, yet there appears to be no significant progress in redressing this injustice.”

The National Youth Reference Group gives young people who have experienced homelessness the chance to get involved with influencing central and local government policy on support services for 15- to 16-year-olds.

Mariam Ahmed, a member of the group, warned that mental health issues are a growing problem for BME young people.

“There are many factors that contribute to this, ranging from stress and family issues to sexuality and homelessness,” she said. “There aren’t the services available to BME young people for them to get help on these issues, or how to access the services that are there. There is a lack of partnership working and proper signposting. A one-size approach to services does not fit all.”