Anniversary Address: Improving the mental health of young people living in poverty

Around 12% of young people in Utrecht live in poverty. Poverty leads to an increased risk of stress and mental health problems. Professor of Youth Wellbeing Gonneke Stevens and Nienke Kuyvenhoven, director of Stichting Jongerenwerk Utrecht, discussed this issue in their Anniversary Address ‘From sticking band-aids to taking bold steps’. Stevens: ‘By focusing more on tackling structural problems and improving cooperation between all stakeholders, we can improve the mental health of young people growing up in poverty.’

Stevens leads the research project ‘Minding the Gap’, a project focusing on the mental health of young people who know what it is like to live with financial worries. Within this project, the researchers have collaborated with young people and parents from Utrecht and Amersfoort, as well as professionals such as social workers, youth workers, teachers and policy advisers. The research project demonstrates that poverty and mental health are inextricably linked. Stevens: “Poverty is therefore not just a financial issue, but also a health issue.”

Involve young people and parents

In their anniversary lecture, Stevens and Kuyvenhoven presented five conclusions from their research. “Five conclusions that highlight the bold steps we, as professionals and researchers, must take to improve the mental health of young people growing up in poverty.” One of these is: involve young people and parents as partners in understanding the problem of poverty and in devising solutions. “They have indispensable experiences and knowledge about poverty. According to young people and parents, if you haven’t experienced it yourself, it is almost impossible to understand what it means to grow up in poverty. Professionals must therefore, just like researchers, invest heavily in involving young people and parents as partners.”

The game is entirely conceived, developed and designed by our young people.

Serious game

At Minding the Gap, these young people and parents are involved intensively and over the long term. “They take responsibility, carry out detailed analyses of the issues at hand and come up with creative solutions.” An example of a creative solution is the serious game designed to make education professionals more aware of what it means to grow up in poverty. “The game is entirely conceived, developed and designed by our young people. Our partners will be testing the game. They are therefore the ‘guinea pigs’ in the young people’s project.”