By a Thrive Partnership Officer
Each year, Children’s Mental Health Week shines a light on the emotional wellbeing of children and young people. In 2026, the national theme is “This is My Place.” The theme encourages all of us to create environments where young people feel safe, valued and able to be themselves. It’s about belonging in friendships, at school, at home and within our communities.
At Thrive, this message could not be more relevant. Every day we work alongside children and young people to help shape the systems designed to support them. And nowhere is this more evident than in our work with the Hull and East Yorkshire Nothing About Us Without Us advisory group.
The Hull and East Yorkshire group forms part of a wider Humber and North Yorkshire network of 249 young people aged 10 to 25, all of whom contribute their lived experience to improve mental health support across the region.
Together, these young people have co‑developed 50 recommendations for better mental health service delivery. Their ideas are grounded in real experience, navigating long waits, managing increasing pressures in school and at home, and coping with the challenges that come from growing up in an increasingly digital world.
Working alongside them has given me a direct insight into how services can work better. I’ve had the privilege of meeting strong, articulate and determined young people who want to create lasting change, not just for themselves, but for other children and young people across our region. Their passion reminds me daily why their voices must remain at the heart of everything we do.
Understanding what young people face
Rates of poor mental health among children and young people continue to rise nationally. Many factors contribute to this, including:
1. Increasing levels of child poverty
2. The lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
3. Online harms and digital pressures
4. Cuts to youth services
5. Poor sleep and the influence of social media
These challenges make it even more vital that young people feel they have a place where they belong and can access support that understands and reflects their needs.
Young people’s priorities for change in 2026
This year, the Hull and East Riding subgroup is focusing on three of the recommendations that they believe would make the greatest immediate difference:
1. Improving access to mental health support for neurodivergent children and young people
Young people have told us clearly that pathways into support are often unclear or not inclusive enough for neurodivergent children. They want services that recognise diverse needs and reduce barriers to getting timely help.
2. Providing meaningful help while on a waiting list
Long waits can leave young people feeling isolated or unsupported. The group is calling for practical, accessible support that helps them cope while they wait for specialist services.
3. Raising awareness of children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing
By increasing understanding across schools, services and communities, young people hope to challenge stigma and empower others to seek help when they need it.
Creating real opportunities for co‑production
Following a successful recruitment drive in summer 2025, we now have over 30 young people actively involved in the Hull and East Riding group. Their first face‑to‑face event took place in January, marking the start of a busy year ahead!
Through workshops, in‑person events and meetings with key organisations, the group is working directly with service leaders to improve early help offers, intervention pathways and wider mental health provision. This is co‑production in its truest sense – not symbolic involvement, but genuine influence on how support is designed and delivered.
Everything they contribute feeds directly into our shared ambition to improve outcomes for children and young people in Hull. By working together, we are strengthening systems, setting priorities and ensuring services are built with young people, not merely for them.
Why this work matters
At a time when young people’s mental health needs are rising faster than services can respond, one thing is clearer than ever, young people’s voices are not optional, they are essential.
Their experiences, insights and ideas provide the clearest route to designing support that works. And by creating spaces where they feel heard, respected and included, we do more than improve services, we strengthen their sense of identity and belonging.
Because ultimately, we want every child and young person across Hull and East Yorkshire to feel able to say, with confidence:
“This is my place.”
Find out more about Thrive’s work so far this year.