Ex-army soldier supporting young people across the region with mental health initiative
Sam Coton has founded Better Me, Better You, aimed at helping teenagers across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire with their well-being and mental resilience
An ex-army soldier is wanting to use his own experiences with mental health to help teenagers across the region with their own.
Sam Coton, who lives in Evesham, has set-up and founded Better Me, Better You, which is delivering a programme aimed at supporting teenagers across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire with their well-being and mental resilience.
He says it's vital these resources are in place as there's a growing list of challenges these age groups are facing.
"I think there's no switch off anymore, I think social media is constant and that technology is always there," he said.
"Our subconscious brain has got such a way of absorbing so much information in such a short space of time compared to our conscious and we don't spend enough time in our conscious, which is where we need to be to override some of the feelings that we get.
"The pressures of society, the pressures of kind of family life, the pressures of school, let alone what could be going on in the world, challenges that are going on, it seems as though there's no off button anymore, no downtime."
NHS data released in 2023 showed about 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental health condition.
Mr Coton says he thinks support like the one he's started would've helped him and that's why he's doing it for.
He said: "It gives my pain a purpose, so everything I've gone through in life I'm using my pain and I'm trying to express it in a different way with the youth that I talk to and allow them to kind of understand that they can overcome it, but they can overcome it a lot quicker.
"They're the future of our world ultimately and they'll be leading it at some point and we need them to be in the best mental shape as they possibly can be and we need to start that young now so they can overcome it.
"One of the bravest things you could do is talking about your emotions and feelings and being honest about why you may well be acting the way you are because there's always a reason."
The government confirmed in June more than 6,700 extra mental health workers had been recruited since July 2024, over halfway towards its target of hiring an extra 8,500 by the end of this parliament.
It also announced in its 10-year health plan published in July it would "expand mental health support teams in schools and colleges" and "provide additional support for children and young people’s mental health through Young Futures Hubs".