Like us, you probably consider the future of your business, what will it look like in three, five, or even 10 years. We can often get fixated on what revenue will be like, the vision of our office, and the hustle and bustle of everything going well.
Do you imagine your staff? How are they? In 10 years’ time, the children who are six to eight now will be entering the workforce, your workforce. A very strange thought… I know.
In order for our businesses to be successful and to continue to be successful, we need happy, healthy and comfortable people. This is where the challenges come in.
I’m not saying today’s eight-year-olds aren’t going to be amazing future colleagues, but it isn’t a secret that some of them are already struggling. With technology taking away from fundamental needs and parents needing to work every hour under the sun, it isn’t improving either.
There are over 1.4 million children with probable mental health conditions in the UK. We know that if these issues aren’t supported by the age of 14, there’s a 50% likelihood that the issues will be lifelong. If they are left until 25, the lifelong risk goes up to 75%.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a new problem. For the last 20 years, I have been under the mental health services myself, and they have yet to improve.
So, how good is the support out there? How are these issues being resolved and how is a firm foundation being laid for the future generations?
Mental health awareness encourages us to talk and the talking leads to signposting. Simple. However, there are now over 500,000 mental health GP appointments every day across the UK. The number of children who are referred, unfortunately, overextends the capacity of the NHS, meaning that 39% of children and young people referred are rejected from support altogether.
The children who do get in are, in some cases, waiting an average of 1,399 days for support. That’s four years. Imagine if you were told you can get treatment for cancer or a broken leg in four years’ time? How would you feel?
The experience of this is also another challenge we have, which is that over half of the children referred aren’t contacted within the first year of their referral. They simply don’t know what’s happening. These families who are left in limbo still need to work, perform and keep themselves together in the meantime.
If we want to set future generations up to be happy, healthy, comfortable and contribute positively to our businesses, the economy and world, they need our help.
Arthur Ellis is a children’s mental health charity fighting for kids to access help quicker through its multi-award-winning mental health service and to make reaching out for help a positive experience.
This means an incredible customer experience, continuous improvement of services, good-quality therapy and no waiting lists.
Since 2017, Arthur Ellis has been working on this and has so far supported over 10,000 children through its one-to-one service and delivered over 55,000 therapeutic sessions to children and young people across Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire. By investing in the service, team and technology, it has reduced waiting times from 1,399 days to three.
This doesn’t come lightly, changing the odds for young people is hard and Arthur Ellis needs help from the business community to grow its service into one that can have a national impact.
In 2025, Arthur Ellis is launching a new corporate package, starting at just £100 per month, that enables three children to access a full course of treatment over a year, a lifeline for many.
In addition, we are also happy to come into your business and speak to your team to share lived experience and offer expert advice on managing wellbeing.
If you’re looking for a cause to support, why not make it the next generation?
Click here to find out more about Arthur Ellis.
