stem4’s Youth Mental Health Day 2023 took place on Tuesday 19th September 2023. The theme for YMHD 2023 was #BeBrave, and the campaign hoped to give young people the courage and confidence they needed to achieve their goals and ambitions, and be the best version of themselves they can be. We were thrilled to see so many young people, organisations, educators and supporters get involved with this year’s campaign and share what it meant to them to #BeBrave.

We had over 3,000 downloads of our official YMHD resources, with over 400 schools across the country getting involved with our #BeBrave activities and assemblies.

If you or your school, college, or organisation got involved with the day, we would love to see what you got up to! Email us your pictures and videos to YMHD@stem4.org.uk.

We would like to sincerely thank everybody that got involved with our Youth Mental Health Day campaign and helped us to raise awareness about the importance of young people’s mental health, and we can’t wait to see how you get involved again in 2024!

On Youth Mental Health Day, Tuesday 19th September, the stem4 team had a brilliant day in central Wimbledon, sharing our free mental health resources for young people and asking supporters to share what bravery means to them on our #BeBrave wall. It was truly inspiring to see so many messages of bravery being shared.

Thank you to everyone who came down and got involved! A special thank you goes out to Love Wimbledon, Andrew Scott Robertson, Lush, and Wimbledon Theatre, who supported the event and made it possible. We were also joined by students from Ursuline High School, Wimbledon College, and Southborough High School who received certificates for their brilliant work to support stem4 and young people in the Merton community. We would like to thank Martin Whelton, the Deputy Mayor of Merton, for attending the event and presenting these certificates.

Head over to the stem4 social media accounts to find more videos and photos of our event, and to see how people helped us to spread the #BeBrave message this year! @stem4org

For Youth Mental Health Day 2023, stem4 conducted a survey of 1,025 young people about their mental health. The survey showed that nearly six in ten 12-to-21 year-olds say they are in mental health distress, and that just 15% of the young people in need of support say they are receiving professional mental health support or intervention. Furthermore, the survey showed that over eight in ten say they avoid situations so as not to feel anxious.

Dr Nihara Krause MBE, consultant clinical psychologist, and the CEO and founder of stem4, commented, “These findings are deeply worrying as they indicate young people feel less able to face anxiety-provoking situations and so avoid them. This is why we have focused this year’s Youth Mental Health Day on what it takes to be brave. We hope to give young people the courage and confidence to face and overcome their fears so they can acheive their goals and ambitions, and be the best versions of themselves.”

We hope that the resources we provided this Youth Mental Health Day stem4 gave young people a range of ideas on how to navigate the many challenges they face while at school or college, and manage the anxieties that can arise.

These findings have been released in a major new report, ‘Anxious and at breaking point’. Read the full report here.

Take a look at our Youth Mental Health Day 2023 #BeBrave video for some ideas about what bravery looks like from our wonderful stem4 supporters.