Youth-led charity takes mental health funding campaign from North Devon to Downing Street

12 Oct

Spark UK delivers open letter on World Mental Health Day, backed by over 370 signatories, including 47 national organisations and 91 young people

North Devon-based youth-led charity Spark UK has delivered an open letter to 10 Downing Street, urging the Government to protect essential youth mental health services and end the funding uncertainty facing charities supporting young people.

Founder and CEO Conor Warren led the delegation on Saturday 10 October, World Mental Health Day. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, was received by Downing Street staff.

Backed by 372 signatories, including 47 organisations and 91 young people, the campaign brings together supporters calling for a more secure future for youth mental health provision. The letter remains open for further signatures.

The campaign follows youth suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS entering administration in September. Spark UK is calling for the news to prompt lasting changes to how essential services are funded and protected, alongside an urgent response to the gap left for young people and families.

For Spark UK, the visit marked a significant step for a charity founded by teenagers in North Devon and now operating nationally. It took a campaign that began with a conversation in a coffee shop to the door of the Government, carrying the concerns of young people and organisations working to support them.

Conor was joined by Bridie Downing, Head of Research at Spark UK; Tanya Roy, Marketing Lead at Spark UK; Paul Hanmore, Trustee at Spark UK; and Jo Chadwick, co-founder of the Happy Confident Company.

The open letter highlights the role charities play in providing early intervention, trusted spaces and support for young people. It argues that these services need a secure place within the country’s long-term approach to mental health, supported by funding that allows organisations to plan beyond their next grant.

Spark UK warns that uncertainty affects more than organisational finances. Short funding cycles can make it harder to retain experienced staff, sustain relationships with communities and offer the continuity young people need. The campaign calls for those delivering support to have greater stability, so they can focus on the people who rely on them.

The letter sets out three calls for Government:

Protect the services young people rely on. Urgently address the gap left by PAPYRUS and introduce safeguards to sustain essential youth mental health and suicide prevention services.
Fix how youth mental health charities are funded. Prioritise multi-year core funding and stable commissioning, allowing organisations to retain staff, plan ahead and deliver sustainable support. This includes recognising the everyday costs of running effective services, alongside funding individual projects.
Put young people and the sector at the heart of what comes next. Convene an urgent national roundtable bringing together the Government, the NHS, schools, charities, mental health professionals and young people themselves, with a clear route from discussion to action.

Conor Warren, Founder and CEO of Spark UK, said:

“Delivering the letter was a huge milestone for us as a small North Devon-based charity operating nationally. What started as a conversation in a coffee shop has turned into a national movement.”

By delivering the letter on World Mental Health Day, Spark UK sought to turn awareness into a direct call for action. The charity is asking the Government to recognise the voluntary sector’s contribution and work with it to build services that young people can depend on.

The proposed national roundtable would bring together those making policy, those delivering support and those experiencing it. The letter calls for that conversation to lead to a long-term plan for how the Government, public services and the voluntary sector will work together, with young people involved in shaping the decisions that affect their lives.

The letter states: “This must not be a conversation about young people. It must be a conversation with them.”

Founded by teenagers in December 2020, Spark UK creates free mental health resources and campaigns to spark conversations around mental health. Its youth-led approach places young people’s perspectives at the centre of its work. Over the last 6 years, they have worked with the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Sir Stephen Fry and BAFTA.

The charity is continuing to invite individuals, organisations and young people to add their names to the campaign, building support for its calls following the Downing Street delivery.

Read and sign the open letter at sparkuk.co.uk/dearandyburnham.