Stars launch Sheffield campaign to 'shine a light' on child mental health

Four celebrities have teamed up to front a campaign aimed at improving children's mental health.

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Dan Walker, Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont have launched Sheffield-based Bright Young Dreams.

The stars, who all have links with the city, aim to raise £5m in 2024 to help identify and treat children with mental health conditions.

Walker told the BBC: "We're really excited."

According to the World Health Organization, one in seven 10 to 19-year-olds globally experiences a mental health disorder, with suicide the fourth leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 29.

Walker said the celebrities had met regularly over the past year to consider ways to improve services, "not just in Sheffield but around the whole of the UK".

The presenter said it was "hard for a lot of young people" to talk about mental health, adding there was "such a shortage of facilities". He said he could understand why some parents were "at the end of their tether".

"We live in a society now where people don't really talk to each other," Walker explained.

He said comedian Richardson and Olympian Dame Jessica had visited the Becton Centre for Children and Young People in Sheffield, where he said staff were "brilliant" but added "there's just not enough places like that".

According to the campaign's website, it will support Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, the Children's Hospital Charity and "children around the world".

Dame Jessica, who is a patron at Sheffield Children's Hospital, said mental health needed "a light shining on it".

She said one of the things they wanted to do was make Sheffield Children's Hospital "more homely and inviting", adding they also wanted to help staff "who see these kids coming through the mental health units".

The former track and field athlete said it felt "like a lot more children" were suffering with mental health issues post-Covid.

"My kids are still quite young and they're in primary school," she said. "But we are always getting messages from the school about mental health and even kids that age are suffering anxiety. We want to make sure our kids are being taken care of."

Richardson, who is married to Beaumont, said Bright Young Dreams was about "opening up the dialogue".

He added: "There is a lot around for adults, but it shouldn't get to that point, we need to raise a generation of healthier kids."

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust is one of only three dedicated children's hospital trusts in the UK and provides integrated healthcare for children and young people, including community and mental health care.

The celebrities said funds would be used to unite healthcare providers around the world, sharing research, best practice, new technology and innovations.

They hope to launch a global annual children's mental health conference.

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust said: "We're proud and excited at the launch of Bright Young Dreams and the ambition to further develop Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust into a leading advocate for actionable change in how we tackle the global issue of children's mental health.

"The number of children and young people affected is growing globally, and we need to think bigger, to help more.

"Donations to Bright Young Dreams will help create new facilities and support to children and young people. It will enable much-needed research and investigate future use of new technology and innovations."

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