Young Minds joins the T2A Alliance
The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance is delighted to announce that Young Minds, the only national charity committed to improving the mental health and emotional well-being of all children and young people, will be joining the campaigning body. The T2A Alliance is convened by the Barrow Cadbury Trust and aims at highlighting the unique issues faced by marginalised young adults and their need for tailored support.
In 2010 the Alliance will be making the case that all of the agencies that comprise the criminal justice system should recognise young adults (aged 18-24) as a distinct group on account of their developmental stage, as well as the social, economic and structural factors that specifically impact on them. This is the first of ten policy recommendations forming the core of the T2A Alliance campaign. The Alliance has also called for the expansion of mental health treatment tailored to young adults.
Commenting on their agreement to join the T2A Alliance, Sarah Brennan Chief Executive of Young Minds said:
“YoungMinds is delighted to join the Transition to Adulthood alliance and welcomes its calls to expand mental health treatment for young adults. 95% of imprisoned young offenders have a serious mental health problem, yet little is done to tackle their problems.
“The poor handover of services for young people to adult services only compounds these issues and means they don’t receive the early intervention so necessary in reducing offending and reoffending rates and the subsequent costs to the criminal justice system.”
Rob Allen, Chair of the T2A Alliance said:
“The addition of Young Minds to the T2A Alliance is fantastic news. Dealing with the mental health needs of young adults is a core priority of the Alliance and Young Minds will add hugely to our understanding of this issue.
“Young adults involved in the criminal justice system suffer disproportionately with mental health problems and it is vital that policy makers start to address this issue head on. Young Minds is already at the forefront of this debate and we look forward to supporting their work and giving the organisation a further platform to campaign for the mental health and emotional well-being of all children and young people.”
Notes to editors
To speak to the Chair of the T2A Alliance or to learn more about the group please contact:
Annie Bruzzone
020 7149 3705
07786 557 182
Annie.bruzzone@champollion.co.uk
Sam Hardy
020 7149 3707
07771 780 946
The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance is convened by the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
Alliance Members
- The Barrow Cadbury Trust
- Addaction
- Catch22
- Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
- Clinks
- Criminal Justice Alliance
- NACRO
- The Howard League for Penal Reform
- The Prince’s Trust
- The Prison Reform Trust
- Revolving Doors Agency
- The Young Foundation
- Young People in Focus
- Young Minds