They should be the engine driving the nation’s economy, society and democracy, but young people in South Africa are more likely to be unemployed, living in poverty, and experiencing high levels of poor physical and mental health.

Research shows — and we have seen this in our own work with youth across the country— that young South Africans face a daily onslaught on their mental health. Anxiety disorders, linked to poverty and violence, are pervasive in low-income communities. With a sense that they are denied opportunities, young people feel alienated from the economically active parts of South Africa, resulting in an increase in a wide range of mental health related problems.  

To better support the youth development ecosystem the youth team have prioritised Mental Health, and mental health support within the portfolio. The Mental Health Project has three key objectives:

1. To emphasize the importance of mental health and psychosocial support for young people.
2. To share best practices for psychosocial support.
3. To explore policy-level interventions required to make the delivery and uptake of youth-focused psychosocial support easier.

Over the last 4 years the Bertha Centre team, have run capacity building workshops across the country, aiming at assisting youth development practitioners to better support the mental health of their learners.

1. Ran an awareness campaign across Social Media in 2021.
2. Conducted an ecosystem analysis of available resources, which culminated in the release of the publication (click here for publication).
3. Conducing research into resources available for youth. For an overview of these resources, please (see resources below).
4. Developed a two part call to action (see below)

Call to Action:

To better support our young people. The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and partners have developed a two part call to action, directed at government and youth development programme funders.

1. A call to funders within the youth development system to begin prioritising mental health programming. Through the setting of mandatory psychosocial support programming by organisations. I.e. Funders will not fund programmes that do not have an adequate plan for directly improving and addressing youth mental health.
2. A call to DBE and DSD to provide more social workers to low and no-fee schools

Please indicate your support by signing the petition and adding your voice to the movement! Make your voice count and get behind improved support for our young people!

Sign here

Resources:

View the recording of the Webinar which launched the mental well-being campaign, here.

Watch the recording of the online Webinar, which focused on the 10 effective priorities for mental health programming. Run in Partnership with Empower, here.

Watch the recording of our Bertha Centre Collective webinar on 'Youth-led solutions for mental wellbeing', here.

Browse an overview of the key insights coming out of the Bertha Centre Collective Youth Led Solutions to Mental Well-Being, here.

Listen to the Bertha Centre Podcast where the BC team have an honest conversation with Tshegofatso Ketshabile, known professionally as Tshego, about his challenges with depression and substance abuse, here.

Browse a resource list for Mental Well-being support nationally and within your region, here.

Listen to the Bertha Centre Podcast episode on a systems perspective to understanding youth mental health, here.

Gain a better understanding of what the experts are saying about youth mental, from our partner interviews, here.

Key Partners: