Katya kicks off Mental Health Week with a blog about putting her questions to ...
Today I went with Shereece (Let's Talk About Sex) to the British Youth Council debate 'What's Youth Got To Do With It?' at the Conservative Conference in Manchester. We met Children's Minister Tim Loughton!
When we arrived there were riots going on outside the city hall!
I was given the opportunity to ask one question to a panel of six people with links to the Tory party, and one MP. I asked whether they believed there should be a role in the government to represent young people's mental health issues.
Then the panel debated my question. They didn't really directly answer my question but the whole panel agreed that a lot more needs to be done about teaching about mental health to young people and providing more services.
It was interesting to hear a few of them say how bad the NHS is in dealing with mental health issues but it's great that they recognise this. In particular, Danny Bartlett from O2 Think Big discussed how his brother is schizophrenic and that the healthcare he received was appalling.
He really spoke openly about this, which is what my campaign is all about... talking about mental illness and facing it head on to break down the stigma. He was a prime example of doing this.
After I asked my question, people told me they have been battling their local hospital for a long time to provide 24 hour mental health services. They are finally getting through to them, which is great.
I also went around and spoke to the other young people there and tried to increase my likes, followers and supporters. While doing this, I met a group who are also campaigning to bring mental health into schools. It was really good to meet them.
I really enjoyed the conference and it was so interesting to see what other issues young people are passionate about.
To have your say on whether the Government should appoint a young person to be the voice of mental health issues, please do the poll on my Facebook page!
Katya
