Young hit hard by virus impact

Young people in Perth and Kinross have had their lives “turned upside down” by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a youth leader in the region.

Jack Bell, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP) for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, told the PA this week that COVID-19 had “cast a shadow” on young people’s future, and he urged those struggling with their mental health to seek support.

He was speaking as it emerged three quarters of young people in Perth and Kinross (77 per cent) are concerned for their mental wellbeing as a result of the impact from the pandemic.

With school, college and university closures approaching the eighth week, 91 per cent of young people in the region are concerned about their exams and coursework, while 94 per cent worry about the impact COVID-19 will have on their future.

With more than three quarters of Perthshire youngsters concerned about their mental wellbeing, 38 per cent are not confident accessing information on mental health.

Ninety-one per cent know how to access information, advice and updates around the lockdown, but 60 per cent don’t know where to access information on financial support.

These worrying figures were from a new study commissioned by the Scottish Youth Parliament, YouthLink Scotland and Young Scot which asks young people to share their concerns about COVID-19.

Working in partnership, Scotland’s leading youth organisations produced the ‘LockdownLowdown’ report to identify what young people need from the Scottish Government, the NHS, local authorities and others in the future.

Reacting to the survey, Jack Bell said: “It really is impossible to ignore the impact of the current pandemic and lockdown situation on our young people, and LockdownLowdown brings this fact to light.

“Not only have young people’s social and academic lives been turned upsidedown in the recent past, but for many of them COVID-19 has cast a shadow over their visions of the future, with key socio-economic issues such as health and wellbeing and financial security having a more profound impact than ever before on the youth.

“As a local MSYP I have been working to alleviate young people’s concerns and to point them in the right direction of the support that they might need, and would urge anyone reading this to try and do the same, for the sake of the people that we so often call the future.”

A Twitter account called @pandkyouthwork has also been set up to help support young people in the region during the crisis by distributing advice and sharing what young people have been doing.

More than 2400 young people across Scotland took part in the research and many respondents stated that decisionmakers should improve the impact on education while calling for restrictions to be stricter.

Jack Dudgeon MSYP, chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said: “Young people need reassurance that their life opportunities are not at risk.

“Before the pandemic, we already knew that young people were battling a mental health epidemic, with rates of depression and anxiety skyrocketing.

“The findings from LockdownLowdown reveal that young people in Perth and Kinross are concerned about their own mental wellbeing. With their democratic mandate, members of the Scottish Youth Parliament will work with decisionmakers for the benefit of young people’s futures in the context of COVID-19.”

Following on from this initial research, young people will be encouraged to keep submitting their questions and concerns on a weekly survey hosted on social media.