Last week we had the great honour of representing Kooth at an exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. After meeting Paul Sweeney, Scotland's Shadow Mental Health Minister, at a Glasgow Family Wellbeing event in 2023, we were invited to his office in Glasgow to share more about Kooth, after which he offered to sponsor our exhibition.
Democratising access to mental health support
On 7th - 9th January 2025, we brought our exhibition to Holyrood with a key message: the importance of “democratising” mental health support in Scotland, ensuring access for everyone, no matter who or where they are.
At the exhibition, we spoke to MSPs about Kooth’s in-the-moment and preventative mental health support, with no waiting lists. We wanted to ensure that mental health funding is sustained (and increased!) and that mental health remains a priority on the agenda.
We also shared how our services have been embraced in Scotland in the areas where they are commissioned: almost 30k people in Scotland have accessed Kooth support over the past three years, with over 93% stating they would recommend the service to a friend.
The MSPs who stopped for a chat
During the three days more than 30 MSPs stopped by for a chat, including Kate Forbes - Deputy First Minister, Maree Todd - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Jenni Minto - Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health and Humza Yousaf - Former First Minister and Glasgow MSP.
Conversations with Ministers and MSPs centred on:
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reducing mental health stigma
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the importance of offering different ways of accessing mental health support
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the value of early support in reducing waiting times and the importance of removing barriers to access
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the gaps in service provision that Kooth is helping to fill, such as supporting people experiencing bereavement, supporting young carers and supporting young people and families with neurodiversity
MSPs were keen for these valuable conversations to continue; many offered to make key connections locally.
It was great to hear that Jenni Minto had previously heard about Kooth when she was in a High School in Argyll and Bute chatting to young people about what they do to help with their own mental wellbeing.
Encouraging MSPs to make their Mental Health Pledge
Over the three days we also invited individuals to make a mental health pledge.
Pledges include: ‘Increase mental health spending as a % of the health budget’
‘I will work to ensure young people get the support they need’
‘I am determined to make more children and young people aware of mental health support services’
‘Let’s do everything we can to put the right support in place for further generations’
Overall, we are honoured and delighted to have spent three days in the Scottish Parliament raising awareness of the valuable work Kooth is currently doing in Scotland and sharing our hopes of making accessible mental health support a reality for the whole of Scotland.
Kerry Smith, Head of Nations, and Kirsty Forsyth, Business Development Manager