Many children turn to charities for help with mental health issues

The Mental Health Foundation has called for more funding for the voluntary sector.

It pointed out charities often play an invaluable role for children needing help with mental health problems.

The call was supported by the children's tsar for England, Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green.

Experts said children are often intimidated by state services and instead turn to them for help.

One in 10 children aged five to 16 has a mental health problem at any one time.

And government figures show 40% of these are not getting specialist NHS help from services such as the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

The voluntary sector has a vital role to play in supporting young people Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green, children's commissioner

The Mental Health Foundation, in its report Listen Up!, said children often prefer to turn to GPs or the voluntary sector, but charities are struggling to cope with the numbers needing their services.

The report said the voluntary sector provides welcoming and accessible services that are attractive to young people.

But the charity added for those running the services it is a source of continuous frustration that they need to spend valuable time handing round the begging bowl for funding rather than helping young people on the frontline.

Problems

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the charity, said: "At a time when our young people's mental health is worsening, they need places to go with their problems where they feel safe and listened to.

"Whether we like it or not young people will usually only approach state-run mental health services if they're pushed because on the whole they find them unapproachable."

The children's commissioner for England, Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green.

He said: "The voluntary sector has a vital role to play in supporting young people with emotional difficulties and they need continuity of funding to help them fulfil that role."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We are fully committed to making continuous improvements to child and adolescent mental health services."

And he added: "The voluntary sector clearly have an invaluable role to play in delivering focused and specialist services to meet the needs of children and young people."