DWARS writes open letter to health minister and state secretary

DWARS, GroenLinkse Young people write an open, black letter to minister De Jonge and state secretary Blokhuis calling for improvements in mental health care for young people. Monday is the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport's budget debate in which this problem needs to be addressed. The organisation finds the increase in burn-outs and depression among young people unacceptable. They cite waiting lists, the difficulty of finding appropriate help and the taboo on mental well-being as problems that need to change.

President Julia Matser: "The waiting lists in the mental health sector exacerbate problems for young people. During the waiting period, young people have uncertainty once it is their turn they are sometimes referred to the next waiting list. We should no longer see mental health problems as different from physical problems, which requires a change in healthcare and society. The minister should contribute to both next year to improve the health of young people."

Text:

Dear Hugo de Jonge, dear Paul Blokhuis,
Dark clouds hang over the heads of more and more young people. Stress, burnout and depression are increasing to unheard of numbers and there is too little investment to tackle it.
In recent months, DWARS spoke to experts and young people who have personally experienced these issues. The message was always the same: They do not get the right care in time and have no one to talk to about their problems. There is a real stress generation. Mental health needs to become discussable, mental health waiting lists need to be shorter and young people need to know who can help them with their problems.
Mental health needs to become discussable, because voicing their concerns is the first step towards a solution. What is really needed is for mental health to stop being a taboo subject and for people to ask each other more often: 'how are you really doing?' This culture change can only happen if the government encourages it. Just discussing mental health would be a huge relief for many young people.
At the same time, talking is not enough, real help is also needed. And not after spending months on a waiting list, but right away. Many young people have a combination of problems and are sent from pillar to post. They have nowhere to go really, because every care institution is specialised, and feel misunderstood as a result. At each new institution, they have to wait months, and it is doubtful whether treatment will be reimbursed. The lack of treatment only increases the problems.
Next week is the debate on the health budget. We send this letter in the hope that the government will take real steps to improve the mental health of young people. It is time that young people, who already have their lives full of uncertainty about themselves, their performance and their future, do have the certainty of good care. It is time that young people who are worried about their student debt, their appearance or their housing, do not worry about the help they can receive.
We hope you will endorse this problem and take action to help us. To break the taboo, to shorten waiting lists, and to better support young people with complex problems.
Sincerely,

Julia Matser
Chairman DWARS, GroenLinkse young people