Young Person Led
At Brandon Centre, young people are at the heart of our organisation and the focus of everything we do. We believe that involving young people in shaping our current and new services ensures we provide the best possible support that responds directly to their needs. Their voices, experiences, and insights are invaluable in guiding our work.
Our Commitment to Young Ambassadors
We’re committed to involving our young people in the design, development and improvement of our services.
In recent years, we’ve worked hard to develop a fantastic team of Young Ambassadors and to establish processes that make sure their contributions continue to become a reality. These are young people who have used our services and have finished their treatment.
An example of this commitment in action has been the involvement of Young Ambassadors in various successful new funding bids. This has included securing National Lottery Funding for our pilot BWell coaching programme, an Islington Giving grant for our Brief Counselling Service, and London Marathon’s Active Spaces Fund for our new Therapeutic Yoga group. Young people were key in deciding the direction of these bids and even joined us for some of the funding interviews.
Another key project led by one of our Young Ambassadors has been the ‘De-Mystifying Therapy Project’ videos of therapists answering frequently asked questions about therapy. These videos are designed to challenge stigma and are freely accessible to all young people on our website.
Young Ambassadors have also been involved in joining interview panels to recruit new therapists.
We believe it’s essential for our Young Ambassadors to have opportunities to connect, share experiences, and learn from one another. Our goal is to nurture a vibrant, supportive, and inclusive community of young people and hosts events such as our Young Ambassadors Wellness Evening which included painting plant pots, creating beaded bracelets and collaborating on an art piece for our Brandon Centre waiting room.
Young People’s Leadership Board
The Young People’s Leadership Board (YPLB) plays a pivotal role in executing our Young People’s Involvement Strategy. Chaired by a Young Ambassador, the YPLB collaborates closely with our Senior Leadership Team to ensure that our decisions are aligned with our young people’s needs. YPLB members actively participate in quarterly board meetings and engage with key Brandon Centre stakeholders at events such as the Staff Away Day, Board Development Day, London Open House, and even a visit from the Mayor of Camden!
It’s vital that these opportunities are accessible to all young people. To help achieve this, we’ve introduced a Rewards and Recognition Policy, generously funded by London Youth, which allows us to compensate Young Ambassadors for their participation
Want to Be a Young Ambassador?
We are proud of our Young Ambassadors and their commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of their peers.
If you are passionate about improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing and would like to be a young ambassador, please email us at youthambassadors@brandoncentre.org.uk.
There are also many other ways you can get involved:
- Supporting us to fundraise and organise challenges and other engaging events
- Share your story and experience
