This project is run by North West Regional Youth Work Unit (NWRYWU), a strategic organisation working with 23 local authority areas to promote and support youth work and services for young people across the North West.

It will investigate how young people with mental health issues were treated in the past and how that treatment has changed over the years. The project will also explore how different agencies have treated young people with mental health problems, as well as the role of pressure groups in changing perceptions and treatment regimes.

Groups of young people from the five sub-regions in the North West will engage with local archives across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cheshire and Merseyside to build up a timeline of significant dates in the treatment of young people with mental health issues.

The information collated will inform a travelling exhibition on the heritage of mental health and young people as well as the production of a leaflet exploring the changes in treatments and attitudes from the early 19th century to the present day.