Dear Editor
Next week (11-17 May) marks Mental Health Awareness Week 2026. Led by the Mental Health Foundation, it is focused on the theme “Take Action”, looking at what proactive steps individuals can take to promote good mental health.
This is a major, nation-wide initiative involving schools, workplaces, and communities.
The week also marks the first few days for our newly elected MSPs, and, as a collection of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, we urge them to make mental health a key priority.
Parity of esteem is vital, ensuring mental health needs are addressed with the same urgency as physical ones. Placing mental health on an equal footing with physical health will ensure equal access to funding and quality of care. While recognised in policy, Scotland still fails to fully achieve this.
Our mental health services frequently face lower funding relative to their disease burden, and if unaddressed, those children and young people with mental health problems will carry this into adulthood.
The costs of failing to address mental health problems are well-established. For example, those affected are more likely to be unemployed, homeless, get caught up in the criminal justice system, or be in extremely costly long-term care.
Our new MSPs have an incredible responsibility, and we urge them to make tackling the mental health emergency their number one priority.
Yours faithfully
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition:
Patrick Gannon, Falkland House School
Lynn Black, LOVE Care
Kenny Graham, Spark of Genius
Niall Kelly, Young Foundations
42 Charlotte Square
Edinburgh EH2 4HQ
Tel: 0131 603 8996