Scouts' A Million Hands programme - better mental health for all
1 in every 10 young people in the UK has a mental health problem. Mental health problems can stop young people from achieving their goals, now or later in life.
Every young person deserves to be able to reach their full potential. We're working together with Scouts as part of their A Million Hands programme to help make that happen.
When we're young, we have the best chance to build the foundations for good mental health. We want every young person to know how to take care of their mental health – it could make a positive difference for the rest of their lives.
Learning about mental health for life
Research shows that young people don't always understand mental health or how to take care of it. But they told us they're passionate about it and want to know more.
If you're part of Scouts, you can use our fun and creative activities with your young people so they can learn about mental health. They can then take action for better mental health where you live, helping others in your community too.
Are you and your young people up for the challenge?
- Fun activities
- Learning for young people
- Helping others
Take action with our mental health activities
Sign up to stay up to date with our A Million Hands theme – Better Mental Health for All. If you run a Scout group, we'll send you email updates when our activities for young people are ready.
We'll also let you know when we've got other important news to share about the programme or our work with children and young people.
How we process the information you provide
We take your privacy seriously and promise to never sell your data. You can find out more about your rights, how we use your personal information and how we keep your details safe and secure by reading our Privacy Policy. For more information or to unsubscribe, contact [email protected].
What are mental health problems?
In many ways, mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it, and we need to take care of it.
Good mental health means being generally able to think, feel and react in the ways you need and want to live your life. But if you go through a period of poor mental health, you might find the ways you're thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult to cope with. This can feel just as bad as a physical illness or even worse.
"One of the biggest things you can learn from scouting is independence …not just the simple things of cooking and cleaning and looking after yourself, it's mentally as well."
What types are there?
There are many different mental health problems. Everyone's experience is different and can change at different times.
Children and young people
Young people can experience a range of mental health problems, while coping with the pressures of growing up.
Learn more about mental health
Our A–Z of mental health has links to all our mental health information on every topic.
Stigma in my family
"I'm not ashamed of having mental health issues, I refuse to hide it."
Our partnership
We're working together with Inspire and SAMH as part of this Scouts programme, which runs from 2019 to 2023. Together we'll reach even more young people, across the UK.
Contact us at [email protected].
