Rewire: young people’s mental health

On 24 and 26 February 2024, young people, youth workers, mental health professionals, funders and policy makers gathered at Stanley Hall in Croydon for the Rewire event. Over two days, we unpacked the relationship between creativity and mental health for young Londoners and the opportunities to improve mental health provision.

The gathering was produced by Boundless Theatre and Stanley Arts, as part of London Borough of Culture in Croydon. Supported by The Mayor of London and the Baring Foundation, Rewire was co-designed and co-produced by young Londoners. These events marked the culmination of the 2.8 Million Minds project, as part of the Thriving through Culture programme.

Over the last 18 months, the Culture and Creative Industries 24 Unit has worked with a range of young creative voice projects including A Big Conversation and 2.8 Million Minds project and network. Rewire was a unique and timely opportunity to pull all this work together. Linking up voices and findings from across London is painting a clearer picture of the current mental health challenges faced by young Londoners and what opportunities there are to tackle these.

Read Mark Garcia’s experience of the Rewire event on ThiveLDN.

We can’t support young people’s mental health in London without listening to our young Londoners. The Mayor of London is listening – we welcomed dozens of young people telling us their ideas to improve mental health support. 

In 2023, Thriving Through Culture’s 2.8 Million Minds underwent a studio pilot at Whitechapel Gallery, producing this zine ‘Should we fix something that never really worked?’ 

We heard that:

• Young people face high expectations and pressure, and lack access to facilities and resources. 
• Safe spaces created for and driven by young people are key, and lacking.
• Creativity enables ways to express yourself, especially when people struggle to find the words. 
• The power of arts in helping focus on the individual and their needs around mental health, as opposed to emphasis on the collective.  

Space for young people to be creative

Creativity is vital for young people’s mental health, and London needs more spaces for this to flourish. The Mayor of London’s Space for Culture and London Borough of Culture programmes, as well as support for Creative Health and Wellbeing build capacity for this.  

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Get the free tools, training and resources you need to champion mental health and wellbeing in your community. Find out how you can support a young person with their mental health by checking out Thriving Through Culture, ThriveLDN and signing up to the #ChampionMentalHealth newsletter.