General

In connection with the municipal elections, we will publish a series of blogs in which the political student organizations of the parliamentary parties will take a stand on mental health policy. At Nyyti, we want to increase the social debate on mental health and thus increase our turnout. You can find out about Nyyti’s municipal election goals here. You can also find a more detailed election schedule on the page.

Thriving youths are one of the basic prerequisites for a thriving society. The pandemic has worsened the mental health situation for young people, and these problems have not been taken seriously enough. We at Svensk Ungdom want to see major contributions towards preventive work and the tackling of mental health problems. 

Mental health problems have been called Finland’s most expensive national disease, with depression being one of the most common of these national diseases. According to research by the University of Helsinki, as many as 60 per cent of students suffer from exhaustion. Nationally, ca. 25 per cent of young people suffer from some kind of mental health problem, and these are the most common health problems. These figures are extremely worrisome and prove that there is a problem that needs to be solved. 

Increasing the employment rate in Finland is an important goal. High-quality education creates a foundation for a thriving and competitive Finland. We can talk about increasing the employment rate and making Finland more competitive, but if young people are not well, we will not get anywhere. In order to create conditions for increased employment rates in the future, we must have thriving young people who are taking steps towards working life. 

We at Svensk Ungdom want to see an increase in resources for promoting students’ mental wellbeing. Preventive treatment must be the starting point, but people in need of help must also have easy access to low-threshold treatment. Treatment must be qualitative and available also in Swedish. The opportunity to receive help in one’s own mother tongue is essential when it comes to promoting mental health. 

A concrete example of how Finland could reach the youths before their problems cumulate is to have school curators available for secondary school students. Svensk Ungdom wants all secondary school students to be invited to see a curator once during junior high school and once during senior high school. In order to make treatment even more accessible, we want to see the therapy guarantee become a reality and psychotherapy training be made free of charge. Investment in these services will pay itself back in the long term, even if it would mean costs now. 

The investments we make today directly correlate with how tomorrow looks. The resources we put into the wellbeing of young people will pay themselves back in the future. 

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