Me & Money relaunched: Tackling young people’s financial anxieties by exploring the interconnection of mental health and money

Following a highly successful 6-month pilot, which saw our Me & Money programme delivered to over 1,500 young people across the UK – we’re launching our enhanced programme today. We’re delighted to invite schools, colleges, community groups and organisations to get in touch with us to request this free programme for your young people.

 

We believe that prevention is better than cure. With record numbers of young people on the waiting list for NHS mental health services, it’s crucial to support young people’s understanding of their mental health and wellbeing, empowering them to address their stressors before it impacts on their mental health.

A recent analysis by the Guardian cited a range of contributory factors in the drastic rise in young people seeking support for anxiety, including rising levels of inequality and poverty and the financial strain within households due to the cost-of-living crisis. Research by The Lancet also highlighted a significant decline in youth mental health, driven by factors such as job insecurity and intergenerational poverty.

Growing up with such economic uncertainties and financial insecurities has clearly impacted young people’s anxieties about their future. Alongside this, we’re keenly aware of the challenges the education sector faces from the 2023 Annual Ofsted Report. It’s imperative for teachers to focus on delivering the core curriculum as they can’t be expected to fill the gap in mental health provision.

“Young people have so many worries in today’s climate and are often prematurely exposed to the worries and concerns of the adult world.

Built on the understanding of their experiences of financial anxiety we gained from our co-production work and extensive pilot, these workshops proactively support young people to construct a healthy relationship with money by understanding how our emotions, attitudes and thoughts feed into our decision making and wellbeing. Through engaging and interactive sessions, they’re encouraged to explore complex concepts with their peers and build confidence in their ability to manage their money independently.

We’ve seen how this programme provides young people with a renewed confidence - building resilience, optimism and understanding as they look towards their future responsibilities.”

– David Senga Lubendo, Me & Money Coordinator

 

To bring the free Me & Money programme to your group or organisation email the Coordinator, David Senga Lubendo:

[email protected]

Programme design

Following our comprehensive evaluation, we’ve worked with young people to coproduce an expanded programme, which addresses the frustrations expressed by young people experiencing poverty and the many concerns raised about financial management by participants during the pilot.

Improving the relevancy and effectiveness of the programme, we have:

  • Enhanced content to include practical and relatable examples young people can explore through discussion.
  • Addressed challenges faced by youth in areas of deprivation and increased the inclusivity of the programme.
  • Added a new workshop offering money management solutions to address immediate concerns and equip young people with the skills and tools to prepare for financial independence in the future.
  • Developed our activities to support young people’s understanding and ensure the workshops respond to the different concerns of our 2 age groups: 14-16 year olds and 17-18 year olds.

The programme now consists of two workshops that can be delivered consecutively or as stand-alone sessions covering:

Workshop one: Money and mental health

  • Understanding the interconnection between money and mental health.
  • Understanding how our attitude towards money can influence our thoughts and behaviours.

Workshop two: Our relationship with money

  • Understanding how making financial decisions can support mental health (14-16’s).
  • Understand how proactively managing our money can be beneficial to our overall wellbeing (17-18’s).
  • Providing a suite of resilience-building skills and tools relating to money to support young people now and in the future.

“How to manage your money is very important in life…. if you know how to manage your money… then you will be able to overcome these learning curves of how it's affecting your mental health and how it's affecting people around you.”

– Young person, workshop participant

Read the Me & Money impact report

To enquire about bringing the Me & Money programme to your group or organisation email the Me & Money coordinator, David Senga Lubendo:

[email protected]

Me & Money Programme

Me & Money is available UK-wide for delivery in schools,
colleges and community settings.

Find out more about the programme

Your donation will make the difference

Just £10 could help pay for a call to our advice and information line, supporting someone living with mental illness who may be feeling in distress during this time.

Donate today