Summary and Recommendations

From reviewing the scientific evidence base, looking back at what our local young people have told us and listening to some local young people regarding what keeps them well there are some common themes that we need to pay attention to.

There is a current cohort of young people aged 18-25 who may have experienced a disproportionate amount of hardship in their lives comparing to other groups of people at different ages. This can be an important time to be protected in our wellbeing due to the number of transitions that tend to happen during these years including potentially going into higher education, starting paid employment or apprenticeships, shift social groups and potentially travelling away from what we know.  

The focus of this report is on those aged 18-25 in Sefton. We have highlighted at the beginning and throughout the document some of the unfortunate things they will have experienced and have summarised some of the things we have been told in the past. Our young people struggle to feel heard, some feel unsafe in our public spaces and public transport and low numbers report getting enough sleep or doing physical activity. They enjoy connecting with friends, listening to music and playing games. We cannot have positive mood all the time and sometimes stress and low mood can be a good thing. Stress can help focus us when we are needing to perform e.g. for an exam or being down about a situation can help us process it and eventually move on. It is when these states become prolonged for too long that it then becomes a problem and stops us from thriving. Therefore it is important to pay attention to what keeps us well, as the young people today are our future adults in Sefton who will help shape the borough.

We were pleased to see that our young people were already tapping into what keeps them well in ways that really connected with what the scientific research told us. That accessing blue and green spaces can help connect us with nature. That creating art, digital photography and baking can help pull us outside ourselves by creating something that didn’t exist before and give us more purpose. That caring for others and animals can give us a positive feedback loop that we can make a difference. That social media has the potential to connect us to others but comes at the cost of being a potentially damaging space for those who are still figuring out who they are. That accessing the means to start our careers can give us freedom to not worry about how to make ends meet and to just enjoy being in the moment and planning for the future.

Some recommendations based on the findings of this report are:

• Working alongside young people in more creative ways can help bring what they say to life. It can help them feel like they have helped create something meaningful – more novel consultations like what has been presented here should be considered using local creatives
• Make use of existing recent consultations before going out and asking the same questions again to our young people. This can prevent consultation fatigue, save resources and help those consulted feel heard when what they have said has been acted upon.
• The protective themes highlighted to help benefit our young people cover a range of activities that are free at the point of access and should be encouraged when thinking of how we encourage our young people to stay well e.g. accessing outdoor spaces, connecting with peers, caring for others, engaging with the arts etc.
•  The work of this Public Health Annual Report intersects with the culture strategy for Sefton. This shows the importance of a connected approach when writing future strategies for Sefton and liking in with other sectors when considering how best to impact wider health limiting or generating impacts.
• Keeping young people well includes messaging around how normal low mood and stress can be as part of growing up. Messages to reassure and signpost to lower levels of support should be included when working to prevent poor mental health in our young people.
• When creating services for young people, try to incorporate more novel therapeutic approaches as part of your suite of opportunities as this report shows these can have longstanding positive impacts on their wellbeing
• Access to facilities and groups which can enable young adults to undertake physical activities and sports which can have a positive impacts on mental and physical health and wellbeing should be equitable to all. 
• Where possible, offer the possibility of paid for apprenticeships in your organisation. These can be the first stepping stone to independence that can help our young people explore who they are in a way that helps them worry less about making ends meet.