The Gap

A campaign co-designed by students at Wirral Grammar School

In some of the UK’s most deprived communities, young people are facing far greater mental health challenges than their wealthier peers because support isn’t equal.

Young people in high-deprivation areas face greater mental health challenges, higher levels of distress, and fewer routes to support than their wealthier peers.

That gap isn’t accidental. It’s structural and it’s costing young people their wellbeing and their futures.

The Gap campaign exists to change that.

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But right now, it does

Where you grow up shouldn’t decide how well you cope.

The Campaign

There is a gap.

In opportunity.
In support.
In mental health.

Young people in Liverpool and Merseyside face some of the highest mental health inequalities in the country.

At the same time, support is stretched beyond capacity. In 2022–23, almost 1 million young people in England were referred to NHS mental health services, yet only 1 in 3 accessed treatment, with thousands waiting more than two years.

In deprived areas, many young people never make it through the door at all.

Black children are 10 times more likely to reach services through crisis or social care routes.

Almost half of LGBTQ+ youth report depression or anxiety, with 1 in 8 aged 18–24 attempting suicide.

The Gap campaign exists to close these gaps.

Support will enable us to:

Deliver trauma-informed support sessions to young people aged 11-25 in areas of high deprivation : Anfield, Everton, Birkenhead, Knowsley, and Speke.

These are communities where poverty and poor mental health collide and where early intervention can save lives.

Early intervention means building emotional literacy and resilience. Giving young people practical coping strategies and support before they reach a point of crisis. So they can better support themselves and the community around them.