Feature

Journeys Through Mental Health – Our Animation of a Comic by Sabba Khan Based On The Experiences of Young People

By Sarah Wishart, Consultant, Producer, Director 22 Dec 2022
Family, Health, Young People
comic

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Journeys Through Mental Health. Watch all three animations here!

In and over the holiday period at the end of 2021, we released our first ever comic strip ‘Journeys Through Mental Health’, illustrated by Sabba Khan, and made in partnership with Richmond Fellowship. 

During lockdown we were supported by Lankelly Chase to create a new format to tell different kinds of stories, and worked with young people introduced to us by Recovery Focus.

Today we’re returning to this subject, by releasing animated versions of the three stories featured in the comic, based directly on real interviews with young people with lived experience: Marcus, Ray and Tia – all of whom experience different struggles with their mental health, but each of them have found their own way through.

Despite cuts to mental health support and provision we all deserve the right to protection and support to this aspect of our health.

 

Tia’s story started when there was a tragedy in the family.

Marcus’s issues began when he was excluded from school, spiralling as he lost the structure school provided.

Ray found a way through the problems with a very specific type of sport.

This season can be particularly difficult for people. So with that in mind we created a spotlight on young people and mental health where you can access resources and other charities working in mental health.

The young people whose stories feature in our comic and animations really hoped that their experiences might be able to help someone else going through the same sorts of things. To let them know that they’re not alone. That there are ways out.

This is an image from our comic 'Journeys In Mental Health' drawn by Sabba Khan. It features four young people in a line. They're all looking a bit concerned or troubled. They're on a pastel background - with a pale peach floor and a slightly textured white walls behind them. The colours in the picture are all muted except for their hair. The person on the far left has green hair in a bun. The person next along the line has blue hair. They are clasping their wrists and looking to the right. The next person has yellow short hair and facial hair. Their hands are in their hoody's pocket. The final person has red afro. Their hands are in their blue jeans pockets.

© 2022 Sabba Khan

The ‘Journey Through Mental Health’ stories are voiced by Alexandra Boulton, Aleysha-Jade Melville and Douglas Clarke-Wood. Special thanks to The Identity School of Acting and South East London based community theatre, Theatre Peckham who casted Marcus via their ‘Young Peckham’ department, their youth activity arm.

Other organisations

We created a spotlight on young people and mental health which includes a list of organisations who deal directly with these issues. Find out more here.

Find out more

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