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Newsletter

Published: 24/09/2025

Prescribing Change: Young People & Social Prescribing

Book Tickets Here

 

Panel discussion: Why Young People Fall Through the Cracks

We are pleased to highlight an important upcoming event at Lincoln Arts Centre on Thursday 16 October 2025: Prescribing Change: Young People and Social Prescribing — a full-day convening exploring how social prescribing can help (and sometimes fails to reach) young people facing mental health and wellbeing challenges.

A key moment of the day will be the panel titled “Why Young People Fall Through the Cracks”, chaired by Dr Rob Dean (Deputy Head of School of Creative Arts, University of Lincoln). This multidisciplinary panel brings together:

  • Sarah Brown (Head of Children, Young People & Perinatal Mental Health, NHS England)

  • Gabby Wright (Project Coordinator, The Network Lincoln)

  • Siân Brand (Chair, National Social Prescribing Network)

  • Summer Andrews (young person with lived experience in social prescribing)

Together, they will bring professional insight and lived experience to bear on questions of access, equity, gaps in provision, and how social prescribing can better serve younger populations.

Why this matters for us

  • Bridging health, arts & community support: This event sits squarely at the intersection of arts, health, and community, and aligns with our group’s mission to explore creative approaches in health.

  • Voices & co-production: The panel format ensures voices of those with lived experience are central, which is essential in shaping responsive and effective interventions.

  • Opportunity for learning and networking: Attendees will include practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and young people—all with interest in building collaborations and shared projects. 

  • Policy relevance: Social prescribing continues to expand across the UK as part of NHS England’s approach to connecting non-medical support into health care. The voices at this panel can help shape how youth mental health is understood within that system.

Key questions the panel might explore

  • What systemic barriers cause many young people to miss out on social prescribing pathways?

  • How can referral systems, link workers, and community organisations better reach youth who are marginalized, disengaged, or who do not present via traditional health services?

  • In what ways can artistic, cultural, or creative interventions be more meaningfully embedded in social prescribing for young people?

  • How can we measure outcomes of social prescribing in ways that reflect youth priorities (not just clinic metrics)?

  • How can funders, commissioners, and policy makers better support sustainable models (rather than short-term projects)?

Your invitation & next steps

We encourage members of our research group (as well as students, community partners, and practitioners) to consider attending this day. It offers a rich opportunity to:

  • Hear thought-provoking dialogue about challenges and innovations

  • Engage with artists, health professionals, and policy actors

  • Explore potential collaborations in the region

  • Bring back insights to fuel our own research, project design, or public engagement work

If you decide to attend, we'd be happy to coordinate a small group or facilitate a debrief session afterward to surface insights and possible synergies for our work.