I’ve spent many years in my career – amongst other things, directly working with young people or leading organisations that are entirely focused on supporting children and young people to be brilliant.

Despite all the challenges that I have witnessed children and young people face over the course of my career there’s always been room for optimism and hope, with opportunities to celebrate the support that has created the spaces and resources to see children and young people shine.

Sadly though, at this moment in time, I have to be honest and say that I have never been more concerned or worried about what we are in the midst of and what lies ahead for the UK’s children and young people.

I don’t even think that you can simply call this a cost of living crisis or a crisis crossroads moment, for some children and young people and their families it is a catastrophe, with potential long term and harmful consequences.

We have spent months listening to the sector, the children and young people we support and our grassroots charities and projects across the UK, and were alarmed by what we were hearing, so to launch our 2022 Appeal we  conducted a survey across the charities and community organisations we support and the results were startling.

Our online survey of 776 local charities and projects, carried out by nfpResearch, shed light on the compounding impact of the cost of living crisis on children’s mental health, and the urgent need for support:

• A quarter of projects say that nearly all (90%-100%) of the young people they support are experiencing challenges to their mental health
• 4 in 5 projects (79%) saying that they are supporting children and young people with their mental health, even though it isn’t their main focus
• 89% are expecting it will be more difficult for children to access mental health support in the coming year
• 91% believe that mental health is the biggest challenge facing young people today
• 93% believe that the situation regarding children experiencing mental health issues is only going to get worse
• Alongside their core project work, 61% of projects have started to provide the children and young people they support with basic essentials (food, clothing, toiletries etc.) as a result of the cost of living crisis
• 91% of projects would struggle to pay an increased bill or expense

Let’s pause for a moment here and just let that sink in.

Here in the UK, we find ourselves the 5^th richest nation in the world, yet there are still a significant (and growing) number of children and young people who will wake up in the morning hungry, who will go to school hungry, stay hungry for the rest of the day, who don’t  have access to the basics and will be anxious about where and how their family will find the money to keep their homes warm and buy the clothes they need. Such levels of poverty and uncertainty are shameful.

I find it hard to take that one of the wealthiest nations in the world might just be comfortable with the fact that so many children and young people find themselves – through no fault of their own, trapped by the cost of living crisis. As a result, brilliant, hopeful, spirited children and young people are being held back and prevented from thriving and being the best they can be.

But, of course, it doesn’t have to be like that and fortunately for a good number of children and young people, thanks to your support, it won’t be. And that’s why your support is needed now more than ever.

Like so many of our supporters, I refuse to give up on our nation’s children and young people and the vital community projects and charities that go to astonishing lengths to support them.

Just last week I was invited to join the DIY SOS and BBC Radio 2 teams at the conclusion of this year’s BBC Children in Need DIY SOS Big Build in support of Getaway Girls in Leeds.

It was an incredible experience confirming all that is important about encouraging and supporting children and young people to thrive and be the best they can be and what we can achieve when we come together and celebrate all that is brilliant about our children and young people – no matter where they come from or what they experience.

What’s so great about the Getaway Girls project in Leeds, which is funded by BBC Children in Need, is that it starts from the point of view that whatever your circumstance, whoever you are, or your lived experience, as a young girl or young women, you have potential, you have something to give or achieve. Isn’t it great that there is a place and a person who might do that very simple but vital thing when you really need it: believe in you and stand by you.

Now more than ever, our nation’s children and young people need more places like the DIY SOS team have built for the Getaway Girls. In these places, project workers and volunteers stand with, and alongside, the children and young people they support and through what we call ordinary magic, help them navigate the challenges they face, to shine and be the best they can be. These vital and important positive relationships with trusted adults make a huge difference to the lives of children and young people right across the UK, every day, particularly when they need it most.

As a result, BBC Children in Need’s 2022 campaign Positive Relationships aims to shine a light on the  need and importance of the positive relationships provided by project workers in grass roots organisations working with children across the UK as they work to address the direct effects of poverty on children and young people’s mental wellbeing and opportunities to thrive.

BBC Children in Need want to address the compounded risks posed by the impact of the financial climate on local projects set up to help address the challenges and issues currently facing children and young people across the UK and so our 2022 campaign  aims to raise funds to directly tackle the effects of the cost of living crisis. Your donations to our campaign will help the charity to:

• Continue to fund thousands of Project Worker posts across the UK, who help children to navigate through the challenges of living in poverty and the impact it has on their mental health
• Provide funding for its Emergency Essentials Programme, which provides basic essentials to children and families living in poverty like a bed to sleep in, a school uniform or a cooker to give them a hot meal
• Provide more funding to organisations to ensure children don’t have to go to sleep hungry

No child should be held back by hardship. Having a safe, warm and secure home, enough food and opportunities to have fun and learn are all fundamental to a happy childhood and healthy mental wellbeing and we need to be there for the children and young people across the UK that so urgently need our support, and that’s why we are calling on the UK public to help us.

First Covid, then the cost of living crisis – all of this has taken its toll on the mental health of our nations’ children and young people.  This  crisis also now risks removing the vital support offered by thousands of charities and community projects across the UK. These local projects provide the vital positive relationships in the lives of children who need us most –  we need to be there for them. With your generous support we can ensure they can continue to keep their doors open for those who urgently need their services.

With thanks to donations from the UK public, BBC Children in Need is currently funding 925 projects supporting children impacted by poverty to a value of £56.8m and 566 projects supporting children with their mental health to a value of £42.3m.

Your support, no matter how small, will make a difference and show the children and young people who need us most, that we believe in them and stand by them.

To all our current supporters, we salute you, you have made a lasting and often life changing difference to children and young people across the UK. To future supporters, join us so that we can all say to the children and young people who need us most – we’re there for you.