Community Voice Clackmannanshire - Improving Mental Health Support for Young People Under 25

About this fund

Clackmannanshire's Transformation Space is a partnership between local residents, Clackmannanshire Council and funding partners.  Money from the Council will be pooled with external funding to create a new resource to support projects and initiatives which address issues affecting those who live and work in Clackmannanshire. This represents a radical shift towards a preventative and relational model of public services, seeking to support work which provides early intervention for issues in new, collaborative ways.

Residents of Clackmannanshire have gathered to form Community Voice, a group that represents the experience and expertise of those living in the area. As a small sub-group, we have worked together, bringing our own experiences, along with stories from others living in the county, to bring some clarity and local context to the challenge this fund aims to tackle.  Not to try to design a fix, but to describe the best problems to solve.  

Our aim is to inspire, encourage and invite others to develop ideas for new approaches and services that could contribute to the prevention of poor mental health and improvement of support for young people under 25.

Purpose of this fund

In 2018, the Auditor General for Scotland found that children's mental health services were under significant pressure; data and evidence were inadequate, and a 'step change is required to improve children and young people's mental health service'.

In 2019, the Youth Commission on Mental Health Services made over 100 recommendations to improve support for young people.

In September 2025, the Youth Commission (with SAMH and Young Scot) published a review of those recommendations showing that "...while some progress has been made, services remain inconsistent, funding lacks transparency, and key challenges persist".

In the face of these persistent challenges, young people in Scotland are facing new pressures and uncertain futures along with the added adverse impacts of Covid on mental health.

This fund is all about addressing the root causes of poor mental health and improving outcomes for people under 25 in Clackmannanshire.

What We Know

We set out to paint a picture of factors affecting the mental health of young people in Clacks today, based on our own experience and prompted by evidence published by relevant organisations (including the Mental Health Foundation, Youth Futures Foundation and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland.

Here's what we learned:

• Poverty is the single biggest driver of mental ill health, and approximately one quarter of children in Clackmannanshire (and in Scotland more broadly) live in poverty.
• Early life experiences, such as living with someone with mental ill-health or an alcohol or drug addiction, can impact a young person's mental health and wellbeing. We also know (from another Community Voice call for proposals) that young people who experience domestic violence in the home have little support and can repeat behaviours that have been normalised.
• A culture of stigma still appears to be alive in Clackmannanshire. In fact, there's a feeling that prejudice towards certain groups (for example, the LGBTQ+ community) is increasing and any previous progress made is 'going backwards'. We know that harassment and discrimination due to racial and ethnic identity, sexual and gender identity, body image and being disabled can affect quality of life and impact on the mental health of young people. We also feel that once a young person has a 'label', it's difficult to shake it off.
• Is support available? It's complicated. Depending on our knowledge of the area, the sector, our own experience of seeking it or providing it, we either consider that support isn't available or that it is available but people don't know about it.
• Statutory services appear to be under pressure because people are experiencing long waiting lists for mental health diagnosis and treatment.
• Community-based services are available - but do people know about them when they need them?
• Peer support is available, yet, according to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 5 young adults (20%) surveyed in Scotland felt they did not have a trusted adult to go to for advice and support if they were experiencing a problem.
• Two of the greatest barriers to children receiving mental health support are low levels of mental health literacy and fear of stigmatisation.

A lack of support around life transitions is apparent (for example, moving to different schools, through adolescence, into early adulthood, from care) but, in some places, we hear that primary to secondary school has improved.  We have heard about two schools in Clackmannanshire where extra transition support is offered to parents and students.

There are also new pressures for young people to contend with:

• The school environment has become a difficult place for students and teachers. Teachers can feel overwhelmed with pressure to improve grades, while students equally feel pressure to achieve and to fit in. While this might not feel 'new', the use of smartphones and constant online access can increase the impacts of stress around exam times.  Exams are not for everyone.
• Children are increasingly feeling climate anxiety and the pressure of body image, with social media creating unhealthy beauty standards.
• Online access in school will continue to be an issue as younger children own their own devices.
• Could 'doom-scrolling' and increased screen time be impacting on young people's sleep? We know that sleep quality is declining, which can lead to many problems, including poorer mental health. And yet, going to bed early can feel like a form of stigma - going to bed later seems 'cooler'.
• As young people leave education, they are faced with unstable employment and increasing costs of living, in particular housing.
• It can sometimes feel as though mental health isn't taken seriously.

A vision to work towards

As a group, we've also imagined an alternative future for Clackmannanshire, one in which the mental health of young people has improved. We've described below what Clackmannanshire would need to look and feel like to achieve this. These aren't suggested solutions; they're eventual, longer-term outcomes that we hope might emerge from the work we choose to fund:

• In a future Clackmannanshire, there is no longer stigma associated with mental health, and there's an acceptance and understanding of everyone's circumstances.
• In their early years, children feel safe and have more access to support if they need it. They rarely witness domestic abuse or risky behaviour such as drug use. As a result, behaviours are repeated less across generations.  
• There's a sense that people are looking out for each other, which gives people more hope.
• As they grow, their life transitions feel smoother.  For example, all schools have extra transition support for all children, parents and carers that need it as students move to different schools.  This benefits everyone and fosters more confidence in young people.
• Young people feel less pressure about academic success but still see routes to positive futures, such as stable employment and housing. Simply talking about mental health has become easier - it has become normalised. Teachers feel more able to support students through difficult times, and students feel they have the support they need when they need it. We learned a lot from the impacts of Covid on different year groups.
• By normalising discussions about mental health, people now consider seeking help to be a strength, not a weakness. People are more open about their feelings and emotions. This, in turn, reduces conflict between groups. Now that people are more understanding and accepting of differences, they feel safe to be themselves, free of stigma. 

Clackmannanshire now claims to have Scotland's best night's sleep. We've understood the impacts of screentime and other causes of poor sleep and helped young people to develop good sleeping skills and habits. They spend less time online and are able to socialise more because better transport services mean that they can see their friends more easily.  Of course, people still need help when their mental health and well-being are challenged. But now they know what's available and where to go. It's so much simpler now because the first person they see knows how to support them. Information is so much more connected and comprehensive. All waiting times have reduced.  

Ultimately, barriers to help have disappeared - people are comfortable with seeking help, they get the information, support and treatment they need at the right time, and their mental health is improved earlier. It's just something that happens these days.   

We feel proud to live in a part of Scotland that has made this happen - and proud of our good mental health.

Who can apply?

We want to support projects that contribute to the deep work of finding and tackling root causes - preventing or intervening in situations that can increase the risk of people's mental health reaching a crisis.

We understand that there will be different ways to approach this, not a single solutions, so if you have an idea that addresses any of the many drivers of poor mental health, please consider applying.

You may find the following reports useful for background:

• Children and Young People Consultation (Mental Health Foundation).
• The Youth Commission on Mental Health Services: What progress has been made with the recommendations?
• Scottish Government Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy

What can’t be funded?

Information on what the fund cannot support is provided here.

How are decisions made?

Decisions about how the funding is distributed will be made by the Community Voice residents group.

You can read more about how funding decisions are made.