Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents
Concerned for Working Children (CWC) works with children, adolescents, and communities to promote their rights to protection, participation, and development. In many of the areas where CWC and its partner organisations work, children and young people face poverty, discrimination, violence, harmful social practices, substance abuse, and limited access to opportunities and support systems. Natural and human-made disasters such as floods, the COVID-19 pandemic, and communal unrest have further deepened these challenges, especially for children and adolescents from vulnerable and marginalised communities. India has the world’s largest adolescent population, with nearly 253 million young people between 10 and 19 years of age. However, many adolescents continue to struggle with poor quality education, unemployment, social pressure, and lack of meaningful participation in decisions affecting their lives, making them more vulnerable to exploitative labour, early marriage, trafficking, and emotional distress.
Over the last few years, CWC has witnessed a growing mental health and wellbeing crisis among children and adolescents. Anxiety, stress, fear, loneliness, substance use, and feelings of helplessness have increased significantly. Weakening family and community support systems, social isolation, excessive screen time, and economic pressures have added to these struggles.
From 2023 to 2025, CWC organised statewide and decentralised consultations across Karnataka focused on mental health and wellbeing. Young people strongly expressed their need for support, dignity, agency, and safe spaces where they can participate actively in finding solutions for themselves and their peers. Drawing from its experience of creating spaces where children and young people can express their mental health and wellbeing needs and with the active intent of supporting young people to actively shape solutions and access, CWC has also been nominated as the Chair of FORUT’s Community of Practice on Mental Health and Child Rights.
At CWC, we continue to work towards creating such child- and adolescent-friendly spaces that promote wellbeing, participation, resilience, and hope.
To know more about the State Consultation on Mental Health and Wellbeing in Karnataka click here: https://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/news/2023/10/state-consultation-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing-of-children-and-adolescents-in-karnataka/
To know more about CWC’s Mental health and Wellbeing initiatives with children, adolescents and their communities, click here: CWC_Mental Health Initiatives-2025
To know more about the Rights and Wellbeing through Adolescents’ Eyes – A New Path to Policy: the State Consultation of Adolescents in Karnataka in 2025, including their recommendations on mental health and well-being, click here https://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/news/2026/02/rights-and-wellbeing-through-adolescents-eyes-a-new-path-to-policy-recommendations-from-the-state-consultation-of-adolescents-in-karnataka/
To know more about CWC’s initiatives on the Right to Play and it’s impact on Mental Health and Well-being, click here: https://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/news/2025/07/making-play-a-right-cwcs-local-to-global-impact-on-the-international-day-of-play-2023-2025/
To read the submission, ‘Impact of mental health challenges on the enjoyment of human rights by young people’ by The Concerned for Working Children, India to The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)- United Nations, February 2026, click here: https://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/news/2026/02/impact-of-mental-health-challenges-on-the-enjoyment-of-human-rights-by-young-people/
