A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research, published in September 2026, paints a striking picture of what it is like to grow up in England today. Young people, it found, have never felt more disconnected. Disconnected from themselves, from each other, and from the society they are growing up in.
The findings are sobering. Young people today have fewer close friends than they did a decade ago, and the friendships they do have are less strong. One in 20 young people now have no friends at all. The share of young people saying poor mental health has caused them to accomplish less has quadrupled since 2010. And growing numbers are stuck in what the report describes as a longer, hollower and more precarious adolescence, unable to access the markers of adult life that previous generations took for granted.
This is not a story about individual failure. It is a story about what happens when the services, spaces and structures that once helped young people navigate growing up are gradually stripped away, and when the digital world fills the gap in ways that deepen isolation rather than ease it.
At CB Plus, we recognise this picture. We see it in the young people who come to us already carrying more than they should have to carry alone. And we know that the earlier support reaches someone, the better the outcome tends to be.
That is exactly why we are proud to be part of Brent LYRA.
What is Brent LYRA?
Brent LYRA is a community-based mental health and wellbeing service for children and young people aged 5 to 18 across Brent, and up to 25 for those with SEND. Delivered in partnership with CNWL CAMHS, the Anna Freud Centre and Brent Centre for Young People, LYRA offers early support for mild to moderate mental health challenges, including anxiety, low mood, loneliness, exam stress, and friendship or family difficulties.
The key word is early. LYRA is not a crisis service. It exists precisely to reach young people before things escalate, offering peer support circles, mentoring, and practical help building confidence and resilience.
Parents, carers, schools, GPs and young people themselves can all refer directly. There is no long process, and no need to wait until things feel unbearable.
Why early support matters
The IPPR report is clear that the solutions to young people’s disconnection cannot come from changes to youth policy alone. A collective effort is needed, one that reaches across education, work, housing and health, and that starts long before crisis point.
Services like Brent LYRA are part of that effort. Not a safety net for when things have already gone wrong, but a consistent, accessible presence in the community for when things are just starting to feel hard.
If you work with young people in Brent, or if you are a parent or carer wondering whether a young person in your life could use some support, we would encourage you to reach out. You do not need to have all the answers before you do.
