One in four young people say they will never recover from the emotional impact of the pandemic

  • Report by Granada Reports journalist Rob Smith

Almost half of young people in the North West say they are suffering with mental health issues due to the pandemic.The Princes Trust has spoken to 16 to 25-year-olds in the region, with one in four feeling they will never recover emotionally from the Covid crisis.

The Government says it has promised an extra £79 million to support young people's mental health services.

Jaymie Armstrong says his anxiety "went through the roof" during the pandemic

Jaymie Armstrong did not escape the pandemic unscathed.

The 23-year-old from Lancaster suffered bereavement and endless isolation - sending his anxiety "through the roof."

He is among half of 16 to 25-year-olds who say lockdown and what followed damaged their mental health.

A quarter believe they will never recover from the pandemic's emotional impact.

Jaymie said: "I am really not surprised because I don't know a single young person who hasn't struggled with their mental health.

"With the first lockdown it was a lot to do with the lack of understanding and not knowing what was going on. I had never experienced anything like it."

Molly Trenwith from Wigan struggled too.

Molly Trenwith says she was afraid to leave home and worried about being around people

At 22, she became afraid to leave home, worried about being around people - worried about catching Covid.

Molly said: "I've had anxiety all my life and the pandemic made it worse.

"I was terrified of leaving the house and with staying indoors and everything being on camera with my phone I just needed to socialise to get better."

Youth charity, The Princes Trust, is behind this stark mental health snapshot.

The charity asked young people in the North West and beyond how happy and how confident they are.

It believes society has to do more to stop next year's snapshot being even worse.

Laura Whitehurst from the Prince's Trust said: "Although it's shocking for me to say our youth workers are seeing this on the ground every day. Certainly anxiety and burnout.

"We are talking about a generation who are 16-25 who are talking about burnout. It's scary.

"It shouldn't be happening to 16 and 17 year olds and sad to see that at this point in their lives they are so beaten and downtrodden by society."

Jamie's in a much better place, thanks to the Trust - and his local fire service - helping him learn new skills.

For him, and many others, learning what it's like in shoes may make a difference too.