YPAG is an award-winning group of young people aged 14-25 from the boroughs across Northwest London and we advise on mental health issues from the unfiltered perspectives of young people, for a research group and mental health network called the ARC Outreach Alliance (AOA) at Imperial College London, which is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London (NIHR ARC NWL).

AOA brings together researchers, practitioners, health professionals, charities, local authorities, members of the public who share the interest of wanting to help shape mental health research and provide opportunities to collaborate on children and young people’s mental health initiatives in Northwest London.

Together we have created an exciting space and new thriving culture of young people shaping research from the unfiltered perspectives of our diverse group. We have become a reliable source of expertise and consulted on numerous research projects.

The next step in our journey is to build a clear picture of what good mental health care services should provide to effectively help young people who need their support, across Northwest London. We are starting a 3-month engagement project starting in July 2024, which will culminate in a youth-led project results presentation event in October 2024.

The project’s engagement tools will be designed by and implemented by YPAG, to engage with young people within our communities and collate their opinions/feedback.