Youth parliament represenatives have called on ministers to act on the youth suicide epidemic demanding mandatory suicide prevention training in every Scottish school.Fatemah Ghanem and Sophie Kerrigan from the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Young MSPs have spoken out about their own traumatic mental health experiences as they urged ministers to back the Daily Record’s Save Young Lives campaign amidst a suicide epidemic.

Sophie Kerrigan, 18, from Stirling and Fatemah Ghanem, 21, from Glasgow, have both been at the heart of driving forward mental health initiatives at the Scottish Youth Parliament and say young people are “crying out for help” – but feel they are being ignored by those in power.

Sophie said the scale of the crisis is impossible to ignore.

“There is an epidemic of youth suicide,” the Stirling MSYP told the Record. “Every young person knows someone in their community who has ended their life in this tragic way. The rise of social media and bullying, along with the impact of Covid-19, has led to so many young people living with poor mental health.”

Sophie said her own difficulties began when she started high school during lockdown.

She said: “Being trapped in a house for two years had a huge impact. Then you were expected to just go back to normal.”

Sophie said the social isolation left her unable to connect with peers and accessing support proved painfully slow.

Sophie Kerrigan is a MSYP for Stirling

“She continued: ” I waited four years to see a school counsellor. During that time, lots of my classmates were getting to crisis point. I remember schoolmates hiding in the toilets because they couldn’t cope.

“One friend was struggling so badly she couldn’t get out of bed and only achieved one Higher.

“But there didn’t seem to be any help for her.”

Fatemah Ghanem, MSYP fro Glasgow Kelvin.

Fatemah, MSYP for Glasgow Kelvin, said her mental health also deteriorated sharply during the pandemic.

“I remember feeling incredibly anxious all the time, constantly wondering what was going to happen.”

“I had panic attacks being around people again and I know this was the experience of many young people in my community who took their own lives around that time.”

The Record launches the Save Young Lives campaign

A manifesto for next year’s Holyrood election by the youth parliament has put mental health policy front and centre of young people’s priorities.

A survey of 4,899 youth found that 91% agree that prevention and early-intervention approaches, including education and community-based mental health services, should be invested in to support young people’s mental health.

Sophie and Fatemah said neither of them received mental health or suicide prevention training during lessons at school.

Fatemah Ghanem is calling for mental health education to be embedded within the national curriculum.

Fatemah added. “It needs to be mandatory across every school. We’re backing this campaign.”

Sophie said young people have been repeatedly raising the alarm through the Scottish Youth Parliament, only to feel blocked.

“Young people are literally crying out ‘help us’,” she said. “They’re begging – and they’re not getting answers in return.

Fatemah

She added: “This is a top issue for young people. We’ve been banging on about needing this for several years now at Youth Parliament. We’ve made little steps, but it’s not enough. We’re constantly met with a brick wall.

“Why are politicians not helping us? English schools now have mental health training in every school, so why can’t we?”

“Training in lessons would give every single person access to the tools they need to support their mental health.”

First Minister John Swinney said: “Every suicide death is a tragedy and my heartfelt sympathies go out to all those affected. Our aim is for anyone at risk or affected by suicide to get the help they need.

“I welcome the campaign and am keen to involve and include the families as we deliver our suicide prevention plans. I am committed to using every lever at my disposal to prevent suicide and ensure anyone at risk can access support, which will continue through Suicide Prevention Scotland and our new three-year action plan with COSLA, to be published early next year.”