All language subtitles for Roman.Kemp.The.Fight.for.Young.Lives.2023.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

This programme contains scenes which
some viewers may find upsetting,
and deals with suicide.

Here, "My daughter passed away,
through taking her own life."

It says, um, "Just been sectioned
today, I'm lost and scared.

"Previously struggled with
depression and eating issues,

"which led me to believe life wasn't
worth living."

You know, people are just openly
admitting

that they've attempted to take
their own life,

or people are saying that
they've lost a loved one.

I don't know these people,

and then all of a sudden,
I'm in their life.

Strange.

I guess my life has changed

in the sense of, I don't have people
just DM-ing me

asking me for my dad's autograph.

It's people asking for help.

I'm getting these messages
every day,

which is making me question

whether or not more young people
are reaching crisis point.

These are just the messages,

but it's people in the street,

it's people at the pub if I go
and watch the football,

and it's a lot, it is a lot.

Three years ago, I lost
my best friend Joe to suicide.

I made a documentary about Joe

and the issue of suicide in the UK,
to process my own grief.

Hi, Roman, come in. Hi!

You get this sort of creeping panic

that you'll never hug him again.

I wish it wasn't so... Sorry.

And I met people up and down
the country

dealing with what felt like
a suicide epidemic

at the height of Covid.

I just feel like maybe if I had
said one different word to him

on one day, that there would have
been a different outcome.

It's hard, isn't it?

You just miss them.

Since then, that conversation
has become a huge part

of not just my working life,
but my personal life.

I want to start by asking,
are you really OK?

In terms of long term,
I'm getting there.

Stats don't lie.
Guys think about suicide

and have a moment in their life

where they feel like they're on that
edge a lot more than people think.

This was something I never expected
to do, didn't want to do,

but I knew I had to do.

You know, people know me

as radio show, morning, happy,

but now they also know me as almost
like this "suicide boy" type thing.

If young people are reaching out
to someone like me for help,

it makes me think something is going
very wrong.

Are these people actually not
able to get proper support

from the right places?

A huge part of my life
is centred around this.

I need to know what's really
going on.

I have to find out if I can help.

MUFFLED TRAIN ANNOUNCEMENT

At the end of the last documentary,

I encouraged everyone
to get talking.

So what I'm asking you to do
is get on the phone,

speak to your friends,
see if they're all right,

ask if they're OK twice.

So many people have told me
that after speaking up,

they just didn't get the help
they were looking for.

I recently found out about one
young girl

who struggled to get
the support that she really needed.

I think families like the one
we're about to meet

will have more of an understanding

of what is in place for kids
these days, and also what isn't.

They've got the most insight
into what could have been done.

Poppy first attempted suicide
at just 14 years old.

She was diagnosed with low mood

and spent two years
in and out of treatment.

At just 16 years old,
she took her own life.

Her older siblings
Ollie and Eloise

are showing me
where they scattered her ashes.

Look at this, it's like a painting.
Yeah. Yeah.

It's just a place that we can come
and think about Poppy.

This is Poppy here,
um, with a little poppy as well.

It's just so nice. Yeah.

Dad comes here a lot and he likes
to sit with her in the sun.

What's the toughest impact for you
that it's had? For you personally?

Um...

..just not having a sister.

Yeah, I just...
it's such a unique thing,

and, yeah, just, Pops knew me
so well,

um, just like everything about me

and, yeah, it's just...
my brothers are great,

but it's, like, not the same,
really.

Yeah, like all the joking around
and, um, just having her to talk to.

She was so much fun,
like, all the time.

Poppy's parents, Esther and Andy,
have kindly agreed to talk to me

about what help was offered
to their daughter.

Poppy used to sit here.

Poppy's main care

came from her local child and
adolescent mental health service,

a part of the NHS known as Camhs.

I think in times of crisis for her,

Camhs services,

GP, um, were really responsive.

But what we found hard was
in all the in between times,

I think Poppy felt like she wasn't
given a lot of hope through it

that it was going to be all right.
Sure.

She had a series
of sessions of therapy.

Was this by a GP or was it by...?
This was through Camhs.

Through Camhs, OK. Yeah.

So she tried to take her life
five times altogether.

And the fifth time,
not long after that,

those sessions ended and they
couldn't offer her anything else.

Which is, I guess, about funding.

But I remember thinking,

"She's no better.

"She's just tried to take her life
again and now we have no-one."

So that felt terrifying.

She did say, "They don't know
what to do with me,"

and that's the message she got.

Which felt really hard,
so she thought,

"There's nothing more
that can be done."

Once, after she'd tried to take
her life, she said to us,

"Oh, you know, I'll do it one day."

Um, Camhs knew that
she had said that,

and yet we were, for 14 months,

we were, you know, it was just...

There were a couple of phone calls,
"How is she doing?"

but there was nothing,

no active support to find ways
to help her.

Wow. In all of that time.

And this is just like, loads
of photos of her and her friends.

She must have been in about
year 5, year 6 there.

Most of the time, it's too big
to get your head around

and so you just...

..you just keep it at a distance.

But when you see, like, just her,

it's just, it's still...
it still feels unbelievable to me.

We were really loving to
our children and we gave ourselves,

you kind of give yourselves
as parents, um,

so this doesn't happen.

It's, like, the worst thing
that could happen.

And, er...

Yeah, it just, you can't...

..it's out of your control,
I guess, you know.

Being able to see someone

that clearly is growing up
in a lovely environment...

You guys are great parents,
you've got fantastic kids, you know,

but stuff like this is
still happening

and it does go to show
that sometimes,

those things aren't enough.

To help people that are struggling,

it's not just, you know, parents
that need to love their children.

It's not just that.
It gets to a point

where it does become an illness,

it does become something
that needs proper, proper care

because currently, clearly, whatever
is out there is failing. Mmm.

It's clear that Camhs
was so stretched,

they could only really help when
Poppy was at absolute crisis point.

I want to know why
these services struggle

to give more consistent care.

Poppy's story got me
wondering where I would take myself

if I reached crisis point.

It turns out one of the biggest
Camhs teams in the UK

covers the A&E
down the road from me.

They're so desperate to find help

and they might not be sure
where to get that help,

and A&E seems to be the place
that people come to.

So there's not, like, a separate...
it's all just everyone in?

Everyone's in one place.

Yeah, OK, so it is quite
a stressful thing...

Oh, God, yeah, you can already
tell by the noise and the chaos.

Of course, yeah.
Um, it's very, very stressful.

So if a young person is already in
a fragile mental state

and they're coming in and sitting
in an A&E department

for up to 11 hours sometimes,

it's likely that
they're going to feel worse.

The crisis team have invited me

to sit in on
their Monday morning meeting.

This is where they allocate
their resources to the young people

who have come in over the weekend.

The 15-year-old female,
she took an overdose.

The second young person
is actually 13.

She was expressing
suicidal thoughts.

Then we have a 16-year-old male.

They had to stop him from climbing
over the railings at school.

A 16-year-old female,
she's been brought in by the police

following a mixed overdose,

and this seems to be on the
background of a family argument.

From young people,

what do you think their current
perception towards Camhs is?

More with a negative spin
than positive.

The waiting lists are longer
than we'd want them to be

and what we'd hope them to be,

so a lot of young people
are waiting to be seen

and in the process
of waiting to be seen,

that's when
we're seeing the crisis develop.

And is that because of just
lack of staff or funding or...?

I think it's probably
a combination of everything.

OK. So it can feel...

..you know... Frustrating?

Frustrating, I think, is
the right word.

One of the brilliant things about
our generation at the moment

is that the stigma around
mental health is reduced

but with that means a lot more
people are coming forward

and asking for help with a system
that has resources enough

for what mental health needs were
like ten years ago.

You are so right,
that stigma is coming down

and it's something that, you know,

as much as we can say to people
"Talk, talk, talk,"

if we're going to say that
to people,

there has to be responsibilities
somewhere in there

and there has to be, you know, help.

Now you've got to give us somewhere
to go and the resources to do that.

Since 2019, the number of kids
referred to Camhs teams

across the UK has gone up over 75%

and without enough resources,

they're having to make
a lot of them wait.

When I look at the numbers

and I see that more people are
struggling with their mental health,

more people are
taking their own lives

or younger people are taking
their own lives,

I want to know that it will
get better

and that we're not just...fighting
this losing battle

where year on year,

it's a problem that gets worse.

Because that's how it feels.

Back in 2020, I met a group of lads
who, like me,

had lost their best mate to suicide,

and I just wanted to check in
on them once again.

Last time I was in Belfast,
it felt like there was a huge issue

with young people
taking their own lives.

Gearoid, James and Corin lost
their friend Carl to suicide at 15.

I'm meeting them in the barber's
where James now works

to find out if things are any
better in their city.

Oh, yeah, what, you're cutting hair,
are you? Aye.

Looks you'd gone through one
of your eyebrows there for a second!

ROMAN LAUGHS

I knew I had to kind of
come back here.

I wanted to be able to see how
you boys have been getting on

and stuff like that.
I mean, is it getting better here?

In terms of, like, more people
looking out for their mates,

yeah, definitely, but like,
the suicide alone, no.

Like, there was one a few months
ago, a wee girl, 11, she was.

Do you think it's getting, what,
younger and younger? Yeah, 100%.

11 years old, like, that's crazy.

That's crazy, and I don't think
that's been the youngest, like.

It keeps happening. People see
that as an option and a way out,

but it shouldn't be,
because it's not an option.

There's a bit of a story
around this.

This was actually painted
by my uncle,

and the fella being held up
in the middle

is a guy called Odhran,
who's my big cousin.

Um, a few years back,
he died by suicide.

He had a baby girl

who was only born that year
that that sadly happened.

It's a bit mad to think
that he's the one on the wall

and it was his father
who painted it.

His dad painted him on the mural
before he died? Yeah.

You know, it's such a nice message,

but then the reality is that
even after this was painted,

he's not had that own message
in his head. Exactly.

That's what scares you a bit, like.

Such a tragedy in the community.

Growing up with so much
suicide around them,

the boys have decided they will
support themselves

to try to break the cycle.

So they started the Midnight Club,
a weekly meetup

which gives local lads a space
to speak freely

about what's on their minds.

Youth worker Steven hosts them
at the Ardoyne Youth Club.

What's the pressures
that you're facing?

Social media's a good point, like,

seeing how some people live,
because obviously on social media,

you only see the good,
you know what I mean?

People can feel like they meet
that standard subconsciously

and when they don't, they feel bad
about it

and it really plays on their head.

Yeah, 100%,
social media's a massive one.

The places like this
and being able to chat,

what do you feel like
it does for you?

I feel like in school,

most of the people going
through problems

don't have a good relationship with,

like, the mentors in school or
teachers, so they'll feel like,

"Nah, I'm not going to school, they
don't deal with these problems."

You do gain a lot from coming
through the doors

to this youth club, like.
Everyone here can speak

and get stuff off their chest,
but it's a bit sad to think

that someone else out there may feel
like they don't have anyone.

I believe, like, every child
should have a youth club to go to,

100%, in every community.

I believe we have saved
a lot of lives, you know?

Yeah. You know, I've come
from a background

which is the most privileged
background that someone could have,

you know, and there's a lot of kids

that come from a background
like mine

that aren't doing
what you lot are doing.

It's pretty inspirational, so, I
mean, just being able to come here

and chat is a thing you
should be really proud of.

Folks, folks, girls, lads and
ladies, there's pizza, plates.

It's nice to see that the guys are
meeting up and, you know,

pushing on with their lives and
trying to make themselves better.

Yo, get them to hit the bar, Mickey.

Three tries, three tries.

ALL GROAN AND LAUGH

Being together for them
is so important.

No-one else is helping them,

so they're trying to do it
themselves.

But up and down the country,

youth clubs like this have been
disappearing

and people on the front lines can't
be expected

to provide all the support
themselves.

People are realising, you know,
that they need the help

and they're asking for it

but the problem is that
that help's not there.

So I guess my shift has to be

from talking to the people
that need the help

to now talking to the people
that should be giving the help,

which I've never done before.

I'm determined
to take on this new challenge.

The issue of mental health
is such a big part of my life

and I'm lucky enough to be able
to afford my own support.

I still see a therapist,
I see a therapist once a week.

It's more so like,

now I've realised a lot about PTSD

and how, um...

..like for me, going into the radio
station and reliving that day, um,

happens a lot in my head and it will
cause me to have an anxiety attack.

And it's understanding that my body,
even though it's in the past,

it's done, my body is still reacting
to that moment that's happened.

So I'll be on a train
or I'll be anywhere,

and it's quite scary, um,
when I have a panic attack.

My whole body'll...

..you know,
just start throwing up

and, yeah, it's not nice.

The only way that I've been able
to break that cycle

is through medication.
These are my life.

Like, I take these every day

in an attempt to try and make me
feel better, and that's it.

And you worry and I think, "Do
these control me? Is this who I am?"

I don't know. It's weird.

I talk to him all the time, in my
head or out loud when I'm on my own,

questioning or not
if I'm meant to be doing this.

A part of me feels like
all I want to hear

is him say that
I don't need to do this.

And that I can let go of it.

But I feel like I can't let it go.

It's not about crying,

it's not about him being proud,
it's more so...

..knowing that I've done
everything I can.

There's just a lot
going on at the minute

and I feel like I need to clear
my head a bit

and whenever that happens,

I usually just go home
and I speak to my mum and dad,

but the only problem is, every time
I go back to my family's house,

I guarantee you, he's going
to try and make me do

some form of manual labour.

You OK? Good, you? All right.

Do you want to do a bit of gardening
with me?

Well, not really, but I know
I'm going to have to.

You've never done gardening
here in your life! I know.

Bit of therapy, Ro, just think
of it as therapy.

Oh, right. You'll be all right.

I see, yeah. Have you got gloves
or something? No. No? No.

You can get your fingernails dirty,
you'll be all right. Christ.

You don't have to dig it down far,
you just want to turn it over...

Well, I don't know, like, how am
I supposed to know farming lingo?

I don't know what that is.

It's not farming. You want to turn
it over so it's nice and fresh.

So what's been going on, Ro,
what's happening?

Nothing, I just...

I guess I'm just
at that point now where

if I'm in the pub or something
and, like, you know,

and someone's talking to me about
suicide and things like that,

there's part of me where I'm like,
"I don't want to do this any more,"

but I've brought that on myself by
putting it out there in the public.

You brought it on yourself, but
you're doing an incredible thing.

You're saving people's lives
by talking about it, Ro,

so you shouldn't question it...
Yeah, but I'm not...

You are, though. But nah, it's not,
it's not, it's not.

It's so hard to explain,
because it's like...

The thing that's really hard
and that makes me worry a lot

is just that I feel like...

Do you feel like you're using Joe
to make you... Yeah. ..more famous?

Yeah. And to further
your... Yeah. ..life?

Yeah, but it's not that.
It's not that at all.

But I'm constantly trying to feel
like I need to prove that.

You know, when people come up to me
in the street and they say,

"Oh, we're so grateful
for what Roman's doing,

"because my son or my daughter
is struggling

"with their mental health,"

I can't tell you how proud
me and Mum are.

And I understand how difficult it is
for you. That's what I'm saying.

I do, I understand. You can hear
people say that... Yeah.

But then I feel horrendous.

Why? Because I feel like,
well, he's dead.

Like, and I feel like...

You feel what?

I feel like I have to go home
and, like, when I speak to him,

I feel like I have to apologise.
Yeah.

Do you know what I mean? Because
I feel like... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I promise you, Joe would be
more than happy

to know what you're doing.

It's time for me to do something.

If I want to try to help,

I've got to find out what areas to
focus on and what needs to change.

So I'm going to talk to youth mental
health charity, Young Minds.

I want to know what I can actually
do. What can bring some action?

How do we make a difference?

I feel like people are saying to me,
"Oh, we need more support,"

but I'm like, what does that
support look like?

And I think that if I can just get
some solid, like, bullet points,

so this needs to change,
this needs to change,

I can get a better idea
of what's achievable.

Hello! Hello. How are you?
I'm good, lovely to meet you.

Campaigns manager Elise is going
to tell me what they're up to.

What is it that you're
doing here today?

So we've got a group doing
a workshop

in the lead-up to an event that
we're having in parliament.

What, actually in parliament? So
we're going to go to parliament,

yes, to talk about their
experiences

and lobby their MPs for change
in mental health. Wow.

So these people have had experiences

that they want to then
channel into change.

They want to then use their voices

to talk to the people that can
actually make a difference

to the other young people
around their lives.

All over the country...
They're young. Yeah.

And also, like, like so many
different experiences as well

in terms of, like, what might have
impacted their mental health.

You're giving these young people
not only a voice,

but you're giving them
an opportunity

to actually do something with it.
Yeah.

Which is what I'm after,
so thanks for helping me.

So we're going to go through
a bit of a practice.

I'm with you, bro, yeah?
How's it going, you all right?

So I'll come around here.

Jaiden has roped me into doing
one of the activities

designed to get
their point across in parliament.

"You've become increasingly
anxious recently

"and have started experiencing
frequent panic attacks."

Three bean bags.

"You try to speak to your GP

"and they tell you
that they cannot refer you to Camhs

"as you do not meet
the threshold for treatment."

Four bean bags.

How are you starting to feel?

Arms are tired.

Jaiden's journey to activism started

when he suffered from serious
depression as a child.

How serious did those
thoughts kind of get?

It got to the point of, like,
suicidal ideation.

What, like how to kill yourself,
or you would like to, or what?

Oh, I tried.

You had attempted to take your life?
Six times.

Wow. When you were how old, nine?

Round about that age, yeah.

And where did you get the help?

Er, my mum.

She ended up taking me to the GP

and they were reluctant to refer me
to Camhs because they were saying

that it was attention-seeking
behaviour or, like...

Were they aware of the attempts?
Yeah.

The GP just brushed it to the side.
I didn't feel heard.

I didn't feel like I was seen
when I should have been seen

and I thought, I can use this

as a platform to get my voice out
there to speak for those people

who are unable to speak
for themselves

or they may feel scared...

Yeah, yeah. ..to talk about it.

Fair play. You know,
you're actually doing something.

So I have been to parliament before
and I have had a sit-down meeting

with a few of the other activists
and a member of parliament.

How old were you when you were doing
that? Would have been 16. Wow.

Yeah. Wow.

Did you see change from that?
Not yet.

Not yet? Not yet.

And what change would you, like,
actually want to see?

I want to see shorter waiting times
when it comes to being seen.

If there was somewhere in your area
that you could go to

in between those waiting times,

do you think that would help it?
Absolutely.

That's why I think youth clubs are
such a brilliant concept

and just such an amazing thing.

And I want to see
a counsellor in every school

because I think if you don't
have the help that you need,

then you're just going to feel
isolated and you're by yourself,

and I feel like no-one should
ever have to do that.

You've had all this pushback.

You've been ignored essentially
the last time you went,

but you're going to go again?
Of course.

Going to just try again.

And speak to the MPs and... Yeah.

..try and get them
to listen this time.

Would you mind if I joined?
Of course you can. Yeah? Yeah.

All right, you've got to promise.
I'll come with you.

100%, I'll be there.

See you later.

I'll see you there,
I'll see you there.

Jaiden's been really clear
about two specific areas

to focus my attention -

specialist support hubs
in local communities

and proper mental health care
in schools.

I've come to
the Grace Academy in Coventry

to see their student welfare
programme for myself.

When I was at school, I had a tough
time with my mental health.

No-one ever spoke to me about it,

so I want to come and be able to see
what they're doing now,

because I do think that schools have
some form of responsibility

to safeguard kids, to teach kids

about what they're going
to come up against in life

and, you know, where are kids 90%
of the time? They're at school.

A big business-funded charity
called the Grace Foundation

are providing extra funding
to 11 schools in the country.

The money they receive means
this school can afford

three extra members of staff
and a private space

dedicated entirely
to the mental health of the kids.

If students are really struggling,
they can come in here.

So for example, let's say a
student's upset for whatever reason.

They come crying. We're obviously
going to say, "Come in,

"take a seat". We're
not going to be like,

"Right, go to your lesson." It's
like, "Right, come in, let's talk."

I'd say it's a safe space.
Hopefully, you guys would agree.

Safe space where students know
they can be heard.

How come you have the dog?
That's a nurture dog,

that's one of
the staff members' dogs.

Some students who struggle
with anxiety can come in

and play with Barney for, like, five
minutes and then go back to lesson.

It does really help. It does help.
Does it? Yeah.

When it's all built up, you just see
her and she, like, wiggles.

You just get, like,
that happy hormone. Yeah.

It just takes away all the anxiety,
like, you have

and just releases the happy stuff
and then you're just happy.

Can I go pet the dog? Of course,
do you want to take her outside?

Yeah, 100%. Come on, then.

So how do you girls find it,
coming in here?

After lockdown, I kind of suffered
really badly with panic attacks.

You know, you head straight back
into school -

loads of people, loads of noise,

and it was this place where
I could talk about how I felt

and someone could help me understand
it, which really, really helped

because I was this girl
who was struggling

and not knowing how to fix
my problems. Yeah.

Were you worried about going
into the room?

Do you think other kids look at it
like, "Why are you going in there?"

Is it weak, or is it not like that
any more?

Not really. In 2019,
I lost my mum

and it was just nice to have a place
just to get away from everyone,

and then there'll be people there
who I could speak to

or I didn't have to speak to anyone,
but they were just there

to be around and I just knew
there were people

who understood what was going on.

Was it mostly speaking about
your grief and understanding it?

Because I know it can be
so confusing, right?

So, it was hard to understand

because I never really lost anyone
before, so I didn't understand

how to actually speak about it,
I didn't know what was going on.

If there was no support,

I'd still be down and not knowing
how to deal with it all.

I feel like the school really,
really helped, like, build that up.

It would be great if everyone
could have something like that

in their school. I mean,
I just think it's great

that you guys have got a dog to play
with, do you know what I mean?

Shall we go in? Yeah?

I want to hear what the school
principal, Tash, has to say

about their unique situation.

The anxieties that young people
have are growing and growing

and they're growing over lots of,
you know, "What happens if I fail?

"What happens
if I don't get a proper job?

"What happens
if I can't buy my own house?

"What happens if I can't go
to university?" and so,

all the anxieties that
young people are now facing

are all linked to really, really
low self-esteem,

and that's what's growing.
That's the crisis that's growing.

It's anxiety. Waiting lists for
some mental health services,

they're up to two years,
which means the only people

that those young people can talk to

about how they're feeling
are teachers.

You have got children that spend
90% of their time in this building.

If you had people in schools
that could work with young people

in that 90% of the time, even for
just small periods of time,

you've got full access
to those children

and you've got full access
to those children

in a space that they trust you,
they feel safe.

It doesn't need to be the teachers,

but it does need to be centred
in schools.

Those services need to be able
to be in schools.

See you later.

All the people in there are saying,

"I don't know what I'd do
if I didn't have this,"

so what's happening to the schools
that don't have it?

What's happening to those kids
that don't have that support

and don't have that in between bit
to go to?

You know, if they're on
a waiting list

and they don't have someone
in the school,

we're just letting them
sit there with their problem

and deal with it on their own.

No kid should have to deal
with something like that.

Better support in schools
feels like part of the solution,

but I know I would have struggled to
open up about my emotions there,

so it might not be for everyone.

The crisis team I met at West London
Camhs suggested I check out

a new idea they've just started
trialling with the charity Mind.

It's just opened and it's been built

to kind of help alleviate
the pressure on those waiting lists,

and I just wanted to see
what it's about.

The Circle in Ealing is a space

where young people can just drop in
and talk to a trained counsellor.

You just want to think about
what feels good for you in a space,

so we've got loads of
different lights here,

whatever feels the most comfortable.

10-year-old Isabella has told me
I can sit in on some of her session.

So what do you do in this room?

Um, well,

I normally come in here
after school... Yeah.

..when I need to calm down
a little bit,

because it can be
a little bit overwhelming.

I was feeling really stressed,
especially last summer,

and I didn't have anyone to talk to.

If I kind of like just come in here
and if I'm ever angry at my friends,

they can kind of show me what to do.
Yeah.

That's the thing and also,
it's about understanding

that all
of us have those feelings.

It's just every day, you deal
with it in that moment

and so far, you're doing
the right thing.

So you just keep doing exactly
what you're doing.

And Nicole, do you see a change

in a lot of young people that
come into the space? Yeah.

I think they can be feeling
quite stressed.

When you see them come through
the doors, they calm down,

feel comfortable to start talking

and engaging with different people
in the space.

This is another confidential space,

and textures and colours were very
important to them, so we...

Meg and Naomi work for Mind,

and like so many people I've met

dedicating their lives to helping
others, they both struggled as kids.

My journey with
my mental health recovery

would have been very different
if places like this had existed.

I would have opened up a lot
more in this kind of setting.

So how old were you when you first
attempted to take your own life?

I had my first attempt at 14,
I had my second at 16.

Do you still remember that first
time going to A&E?

Yeah, and it was awful.

Made me want to scream and be like,

"I'm good, I'm fine,
I don't need any help,"

because it literally scared me away.

There's something about it
being in the community,

and the team reflects the community.

It's about being approachable.

You look at spaces like this
and you just think,

"How come there's not
one of these everywhere?"

Community projects like this hub

are clearly providing valuable
support, but they're expensive too.

I want to know how much
of a priority they are

for the people
in charge of the money.

Young Minds are going
to parliament today.

They're walking over now,

so I'm just going to go
and catch up with them.

I want to see Jaiden,
who we spoke to last time.

Yo, how are you? You OK?
Yeah, bro. You all right?

What are you hoping for today?

I want to be listened to. Yeah?

Yeah, I think I just want to be
heard. By the MPs? Yeah.

You know, I talk
a lot about this stuff,

but I never thought it would
bring me here. Yeah.

We're here with the Young Minds.
Thank you.

You try to speak to your GP

and they tell
you they cannot refer you to Camhs

as you do not meet the threshold for
treatment,

and then you start to self-harm.

Another four bean bags.

Jaiden and the others only have
an hour

to get their point across
to this room full of MPs.

For me, very much, I wasn't able
to get the support that I needed.

It feels like you're left
to fight for yourself.

It's just not something
I want anyone else to deal with,

that's why I'm here.

We're campaigning for shorter wait
times and we want to see, like,

trained counsellors and help
in all schools around the country.

Well, Surrey County Council
are trying their best

to get on top of this,

but again, there's too many delays
in that system.

Maria Caulfield has just walked in.

She's kind of in charge of all
mental health policy in the UK.

We did ask for a chat,
but they've rejected it

and "absolutely no questions"
is what we were told.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Maria Caulfield,
ladies and gentlemen.

APPLAUSE

I know, Young Minds,
you're fed up of hearing the talk,

you want to see some action.

So really, I want to reassure you
today that we are acting.

Firstly of course is funding.

Now, there is record funding

going into mental health services
across the board,

not just in children
and young people's services.

There's £2.3 billion extra
a year now going into services.

That is a huge increase
in service provision.

Now, I'm not pretending
that things are wonderful,

I know from my own
constituency mailbag

how long the waiting lists are.

But the second area
that we're trying to target

to make that work in practice
is about introducing waiting times,

so you as young people know what
your waiting time should be

and can hold your local services
to account for that

and hold the Government
to account for it as well.

So I hope that reassures you.

I'm really looking forward
to working with Young Minds,

to delivering on
the mental health strategy,

so thank you very much
for inviting me.

And I'm not sure
I do look forward to the game,

but I'll do my best to balance
as many beanbags as I can.

So thank you very much, thank you.

I think it only falls for me
to say thank you again for coming.

Secondly, please do eat
all of the sandwiches

and drink all of the drink,
it's for you, please take them away.

Thank you so much to everyone
for coming, thank you.

APPLAUSE

There's a massive part that does
feel a little bit like a photo op.

Just looks like they're coming in
to take a picture,

to say they've done it
and then leave,

which is quite interesting.

Bye, everyone, thank you so much.
If you can grab a last sandwich,

and then we need to really pack up
and be out of here.

How do you think it went?

I just think, like, you know,

there's a crisis going on
in this country

with our children and young people

and I'm just not hearing
the Government take it as seriously

as they need to right now.
Like, the minister came today.

She said some good things,

she said some of the things
the Government are doing

which they should get credit for,
but it's a crisis.

It's just not near the top
of the agenda yet.

There's a bunch of short-term things

that are in the Government's power
now that it can do.

So, like, the minister talked

about more mental health
support in schools, right?

So the current target is 35%
of schools. That's not enough.

It needs to be 100% of schools.

Yeah. And then we need
to fund the hubs.

You know, we need an early support
hub in every constituency

because even if you get that crisis
and acute care in place,

you need that real kind of
early support happening

in every bit of the country.

You know, we need a place
where young people can go.

And to be fair to the minister,
she came here today,

she spoke to people, she met them,
she listened to the issues.

So if she comes back with a new plan
and major strategy,

starts putting some
of these things in place...

And when will you hear that plan,
do you think?

We're waiting, we're waiting.
I honestly don't know, I wish I did.

How was that, mate?

It was all right.

I got my point across
and I said what I needed to say.

Yeah, we've had a few things happen
in the day.

Ah, don't worry about it, dude.

It's one of them, you know.

You learn these things, man.

Sometimes life's like this,

but it's about how you move
to the next bit. Yeah.

At the end of the day, it has to be
the place that it changes.

They've got the key to the money
and, yeah, it is to do with money,

and that's what I found so
interesting,

is that a few of the MPs
that I would hear,

the main thing that I would hear is,
"Oh..."

It's always someone else's
problem.

And it's almost like they don't
realise, oh, actually,

it is your job to help make that
change.

The meeting in parliament left me
pretty disheartened,

but I've been invited onto a unique
radio show, which is more me anyway.

Some of the kids from St Michael's
School in Dudley

broadcast to the whole of the West
Midlands

about mental health every week.

Welcome back, guys.

You will not believe who
we have in the studio today.

I recommend you take a seat
before we tell you,

because it's our biggest guest yet.

Hello. Hi! Hello.

Today we're joined with
number-one bestselling author,

TV presenter, radio DJ
and, let's not forget,

Harry Styles' best friend,

the legend that is Roman Kemp.

Thank you so much for having me.

I think something you do so well is
being so open,

but do you find that
with your job as a radio host,

you have to mask that in the
morning?

On days where I didn't want to work,

on days where my anxiety is
through the roof,

I'll go in there and everything's
better. Yeah.

And I come out of it with
a smile on my face.

It's having that escape. Yeah!
It's a coping mechanism,

and it's OK to have those
coping mechanisms.

I think there's such a push
now in the media

in regards to mental health

to speaking out and starting those
conversations,

but I think there's not enough
conversation about,

well, what do you do if you
ask your friend, "Are you OK?"

And they go, "No," well, then, what
is your response?

What would yours be? The only thing
you can do, currently,

is point them in the direction
of professionals that can help.

That's one of the reasons why
we're making this,

is to make sure that those
things are in place everywhere

so that there is always an option

for someone to go and speak to
someone.

Sadly, that is all we have time for
today with our interview.

Oh, thanks, guys. But fear not,

he'll be back later in the show,
when he'll answer

all your burning questions about
what life is like as an A-lister.

A-lister!

I'm blown away by what these
kids are doing off their own backs.

A lot of it seems down to
the passion and energy of Kerry,

the school's mental health lead.

Thank you so much.
Well done. Well done.

You're doing such a great thing.

No, I really appreciate you coming.
Well done.

So good, so good.

Keep doing it, keep going.

See you later, guys. See ya!

They're so lovely.

Kerry's life was also
impacted by suicide.

Her father took his own life
when she was just 11.

Do you think you're doing what
you're doing

because of what you went through?

Looking back, I think absolutely.

I think everything kind of led to
the work that I do now,

the reason I'm so passionate.

Quite often, you see people
who've had experiences

or experienced trauma or have been
through difficult periods

and they've got almost like an
innate passion

to kind of help other people

and I think that's kind of just what
I want to do.

I just want to help people.

Do you think if, when your dad
was younger, he had this,

do you think he would have done what
he did? No.

Do you think he'd be proud of you?
Yeah.

All right. You're doing a great
thing. Well done.

So often, the power of experiencing
suicide

will drive people like Kerry

to fill the gaps left by funding
shortfalls,

all in the fight to save lives.

It's a situation
very familiar to me.

Seeing Joe's family, for me,
is always important,

so it would feel wrong if I didn't
go and see them and speak to them

and, you know, include them
in this journey.

After he passed away,

Joe's family started a charity

that provides support for young
people at school and university

called Joe's Buddy Line.

Hello! Hello! How are you?

As well as checking in on Joe's mum
and sister,

I want to hear what
kind of things they've learnt.

How's it been going?

Yeah, it's been busy.

The schools that are struggling
and the schools that want that help

that don't necessarily have the
resources,

they can get in touch
with you guys?

Yeah. They get in touch with us and
we'll have a conversation with them,

go back later with them with a
qualified therapist

to see what initiatives we can put
in place,

what workshops we can run and sort
of go from there, really.

Does it make it worth it for you?

I mean, it has to, doesn't it?

You're doing this now for the legacy
of Joe, but also to help others,

and that's exactly what we're doing.

It's really cool, this.
This is really nice.

For me, it was important to come
here

because my story in this starts
here, with you guys.

And how are you?

Um... Yes, OK.

I mean, you've got to live your
life,

but you live your life walking
alongside grief.

And every now and again,
it sort of comes

and taps you on the shoulder
and says, "I'm still here."

And you just learn to
sort of live with it, really.

I had to, like, learn how to take my
grief and deal with it

whilst at the same time helping
Mum and Dad, and vice versa.

I felt like anyone I wanted to talk
to were people who knew Joe

and had stories to say.

Do you find it difficult that
Joe's story is public?

Yeah. You do?

Yeah. Obviously,
we're quite a private family.

At first,
we really struggled with it.

But that being said,

the fact that it was public put
the charity on quite good grounds

for people to understand exactly
where we were coming from. Yeah.

And what we're trying to do.
What is it now

that makes you want to carry
on doing the charity all the time?

The aim of it is to promote
and protect

the mental health of young people
from primary school to university.

If we can get all schools
to have the resources

to help every student in any way
that they need,

that would be the best outcome.
The best outcome, yeah.

So everything that we
have on offer at the moment

is free for the schools that we
work in.

But this cannot be sustainable

if we don't access grant money
and funding.

But obviously, it's very tricky

because the schools don't get
the Government support

and so they have to rely on the
charities to actually help them.

Charities do amazing work,

but then you're on a waiting
list for ages.

No fault from their own,
they just don't have the resourcing

to have enough people go in.

I can't believe that a school
in England has to rely on a charity

when it can't be the responsibility
of the Government

to help fund those schools
that are asking for it.

That's the most upsetting thing.

So I think it is just frustrating

seeing the lack of responsibility

for such a massive issue
within this country.

You take care. See you soon.

It's just upsetting, I think, that
there's still so many problems

and why is the responsibility
to make a change

down to people
that have lost someone already?

You know, those are the people
that shouldn't be worrying about it.

I like going to see Joe because,
you know, all of this

is still work that we're doing
together,

he's just...he's just not
physically here.

And so I like to be able
to kind of update him, I guess,

on what's been happening in life,
and also tell him

that Tottenham haven't won anything,
which I've done every single time.

It's hard because I think that,
in my head,

when I set out to come back
and talk about all of this,

I had it in my head that, you know,
I'd be able to come here

and speak to Joe and say, you know,

"We properly did it," you know,
"We made some real change," but...

you know, that's not the case.

I think from everything
I've learnt,

what I've realised more and more

is that this is going to take
a while.

The NHS, CAMHS, they are overrun,

so we are going to have to,
you know, chip in ourselves,

we're going to have to help
do this work.

You know, if the people that need
to listen aren't listening yet,

it's up to us to make 'em hear it.

Put those questions out there,

start those conversations
with your friends,

what else is there that you can do?

Ask the school,
is there a mental health policy?

Is there a mental health
support team?

Is there a hub that is being set up?

Are there plans for a hub?

If so, you know,
what does that look like?

Because nothing's going to change

unless everyone gets
involved in this.

HE EXHALES

Please, do not wait
until you're affected by this.

Don't wait till that moment

where you've lost someone
through suicide

to try and make a difference.

At the end of the day,
I just want my friend back.

So don't let it get to this point.

So I've had some time to think,

and I realise
I can't leave it where I did.

I can't stop going over in my head

thinking that maybe there's
something else that I can do,

maybe there's one last way that
I can get people that are in power

to notice what is going on here.

My currency in this fight is,
you know,

followers on, like, social media.

And I've been working on something
over the past, you know,

couple of weeks and I think
it's time to put it out there.

Jaiden. Yo. How are you?
Not too bad.

You OK? Not too bad. Yeah? Yeah.

I mean, the last time I saw you
was quite an interesting day.

Yeah. Parliament.

When you think back to that day,

are you proud of what you guys went
and did and stood for?

Yeah, massively.

It's not easy to go to
somewhere like parliament.

Going into an environment

where you don't have the same power
or authority

as the people you're going to speak
to. Right. And to go in there,

feeling like your level's below
everyone

and yet knowing that you
have a point to get across

and a job to do, it is a big deal.

It did feel
like it landed quite flat.

Does it make it harder for you
to keep knocking on that door?

Nah, it does sort of spur you on
and it gives you that determination.

You just keep going
until you get somewhere.

You and everyone else that has kind
of been a part of this journey

has really helped me get an idea

of what it is that I want to try
and change.

And it's something that
I want you to be a part of as well,

as much as possible.

And so, there is something
that I want to show you

and share with you, um,
just to get your thoughts on it.

So I've written an open
letter to the Government,

but I want to make sure people like
Jaiden are happy with it

before it goes out.

Sorry it's not a big master plan.

I'm aware that it is just a letter,
right?

This is something different.

You know, I don't normally post this
type of stuff and this, for me,

is everyone's ideas or thoughts
that we've met

and the ideas and what change can
happen and what's needed,

put into one.

So I feel like what we're
asking for in this

is quite simple and quite realistic.

Bear with me, all right?

So I've gone for,
"Dear Government and all MPs,"

because what I did find

was that you can't hone it in on
one person in particular.

No. Everyone wants to pass it
to one another,

and the only way around that is to
be talking to all of them. Yeah.

"There are people in projects
out there

"that are trying to tackle this
crisis, but I want to lend my voice

"to one initiative that I believe
can make a difference,

"and that's mental health support
teams in schools."

And this is where it
gets interesting.

"Currently, the Government's target
is mental health support teams

"in just 36% of schools."

If you were doing an exam and you
said to me, "I'm happy with 36%,"

I'd say that's pretty rubbish.

HE LAUGHS

It's going to have people
talking, isn't it?

What about the other 64%? Yeah.
What are they meant to do?

"Mental health support teams are
cost-effective,

"saving the Government
£1.90 for every £1 invested."

Because I really feel like the only
way forward

with these types of people is...
Is talking about the money.

This is like us
going into Dragons' Den and saying,

"Look, this is a good bet." Yeah.

Going to Dragons' Den and saying,

"Can you look after the kids,
please?"

Yeah, exactly! Do you know
what I mean?

It feels basic,
but we've got to do it!

"I'm pleading with
the Government to commit

"to a target of 100% of schools
having mental health support teams.

"I'm not pressing for a target date,

"merely asking for that
commitment to be made,

"with proper review
and determination."

Right, shall we do it?

What if I post this and the only
person that likes it is my mum?

That's one person, innit?
That's one person!

That's one person.

OK. Good luck. So do it.

Do it.

You're in a moment where
you hope people see it

and they feel like they want to
share it

or they just let it go by
in their timeline.

And now you just wait. That's it.

Right, let's have a look.

I mean, people are there saying,
"Time for change,

"too many young people are being
failed by a broken system."

This lady said, "Looking forward
to seeing a response

"and hoping for a positive reply
with some actions to move forward."

He says, "I wish there had been
someone fighting for me.

"A sincere and powerful letter."

And just within a minute,
it's already reached 30,000 people,

which is quite good. Just a few.

That's just the beginning.

That's just a post on Instagram.

So, thank you so much, man.
It's all good.

Give me a proper hug.

Give me a proper hug.
That's the one, man.

SUSANNA REID: Presenter Roman Kemp

is calling for mental health support
to be put into every school.

By the time I was on my way
to my morning show,

the letter was creating
a bit of a buzz.

Roman joins us now.

It's quite a sad reflection
that people, I think, in my world

have to write a letter for
anything to get done,

because there have been people
calling for what I'm asking for

for so long now.

I think... I'm asking you
a particular question...

I'm answering your particular
question.

Why did you do nothing
to respond to Roman Kemp?

Don't tell me about other things,
tell me about that. I...

Why did you do nothing?

Because I am meeting with families
who are bereaved.

We've launched our suicide strategy
only this week,

which has been welcomed by
charities and organisations.

It just looks to our viewers

like both parties at the moment,

including you,
are not taking this issue seriously.

Roman joins us now.

The mental health minister,
Maria Caulfield,

she obviously came back and they're
just saying,

"Yeah, we're happy with 50%."

That to me is crushing, once again,

because that means that one in two
children are going to miss out

on very important care, and so I'm
still pushing for that 100% promise.

It's not the end of my journey
in this.

We've knocked a little bit on that
door and they can kind of hear us,

but now it's time to knock
really loudly and be heard.