CYP Now - Charities call for reform to benefits system to tackle poverty and mental health crisis

A new report from a coalition of children’s charities has warned that an inadequate benefits system is contributing to a "dual crisis" of poverty and poor mental health among families.

The charities have called for an end to the two-child benefit limit. Picture: Adobe Stock/ luxorphoto

The Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition have collaborated on the research and conclude that there is a ‘dual crisis’ of mental health and poverty affecting families, with the poorest children four times more likely to have mental health difficulties by the age of 11.

According to the report, some children are "overexposed" to the risks of both poverty and poor mental health, with rates of poverty twice as high from Asian and Black families than for white families, which in turn impacts mental health.

This comes as research from the TUC has found that more than 1,300 working families fall into poverty every week.

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