At any time 1 in 5 young people will be experiencing poor emotional health.
Any one can experience poor emotional health just like physical illness but the chance is increased with Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events or circumstances occurring before the age of 18 that have been shown through research may increase the risk of mental health problems. Examples include:

• Experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect.
• Witnessing violence in the home or community.
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding. Examples can include growing up in a household with:

• Substance use problems.
• Mental health problems.
• Instability due to parental separation.
• Instability due to household members being in jail or prison.

External environmental factors have now been added to the list:

• Discrimination
• Bullying

The examples above are not a complete list of adverse childhood experiences.

The effect is increased by the number of ACEs experienced and the duration of the experiences.

Some children and young people have strong support networks and personal resilience and are able to cope with adverse experiences, others are less able to and need more support than they can get from family and friends which is where ACE can help.
Many of the young people we work with fail to reach the criteria for specialist mental health services but are experiencing a lot of distress.