We've had an AMAZING 2022 and are hugely excited about what's in store in 2023... so thought we'd post a ‘NEWS UPDATE’

Here we go…

Horizon Plan (online course)

We’ve finished filming and are now editing the 2^nd module of the course which we plan to have online in Feb. We have 725 parents/carers learning from the course and can't wait to get you this next installment of guidance and support.

Horizon Plan (live course)

In August we won a contract from the charity Caring Town to deliver a program to support a group of 12 parents caring for a child/teen struggling with mental health. The funding given to us by Caring Town comes from a National Lottery Reaching Communities grant and has the potential to run for 3 years. Our team lead fortnightly evening sessions and the program has been so well received by the parents that Caring Town have now doubled our funding so we can also pilot a group to support parents of primary school children suffering with...

Jade won the BBC's Make A Difference Award in 2022 for supporting young people's mental health. 

Click on the player above to listen to a short clip of her interview on BBC Radio yesterday talking about the YMHF's work.

Go Jade!

Amazingly, Joel and Jade deliver our assemblies and workshops at as many as 5 schools each week! They work with pupils to build self-esteem and build mental health resilience. Today they were at Southmead Primary School in North Devon so we thought we'd share a few photos and the school's amazing feedback.

We're so happy to announce that Jade has WON the BBC Devon's 'Make a Difference Awards' in the category of Volunteer.

The judges picked Jade's work speaking to over 35,000 pupils at primary and secondary schools about mental health. She shares her own story and aims to be "the person I wish had spoken to me when I was at my lowest", to destigmatise mental health and encourage others that they can get through this difficult time.

You can hear the ceremony and Jade's acceptance speech here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0d8nsbg 

If you're a Devon based school that would like Jade to visit then please get in touch.

https://www.youthmentalhealthfoundation.org/believe-in-yourself-school-assembly

Emily's parents separated when she was 10 years old (not her real name). It really affected her mental health, and she feels that she still carries the scars from that time today. So, I asked her for her thoughts and advice for parents who are going through a separation and how they can protect their own child or teen from the stress and trauma that often comes with this really difficult time.

Did they have a lot of arguments?

I didn’t really know, and if they did, it was when I wasn’t around. But I’m very glad they did it away from me because I hated to see them argue. My advice parents is to keep details especially around the separation private from your child. Unless it is essential to tell them certain things, so they have an understanding of what’s going on. Some things about the separation like why they broke up and how it happened were best kept a secret. Probably because at the time it would have changed my opinion about my parents. Also, some of the...

Reposting of Dad.info's interview with our co-founder Joel Sutton.

When Joel’s daughter Jade walked out of a bathroom with cuts on her arms, his world collapsed beneath him.

However, what grew from the pain was his family’s learning how to support their daughter, which they turned into a foundation helping others.

Jade’s struggle

‘We were seeing lots of ADHD traits in Jade, lack of concentration and finding it difficult in classroom situations,’ explains Joel. ‘One afternoon Jade was lying on our trampoline just sobbing. It was a different cry we had never heard before- a gutteral sobbing. It turned out that at the age of 10 she was having a breakdown. She was saying ‘I’m stupid, I can’t keep going at school.’ The stress of trying to keep up with her friends had broken her.’

A private specialist diagnosed Jade with ADHD, and in a bid to support their daughter, the family moved to Devon for a specialist school....

It was absolutely fantastic to be contacted by BBC Devon and be told our 18-year old co-founder, Jade, has reached the final three of their 'Make A Difference Awards' in the category of 'Volunteer'.

Since the age of 11, Jade has been visiting primary and secondary school to discuss her mental health troubles and recovery. Her mission is to build mental health resilience in her young audience and encourage them to ask for help if and when they need it. In her words "I want to be the person I wish had come and spoken to me when I was at my lowest".

Jade has now visited over 80 school, spoken to over 35,000 young people and founded the Youth Mental Health Foundation!

Best of luck at the awards ceremony on Thursday 15th September. By reaching the BBC's final 3 you are already a huge winner.

Great news - our 18 year old co-founder Jade, got a call from the BBC a short time ago and was told she's in the final three for their 'Make A Difference' Awards in the category of 'Volunteer of the Year'!

They interviewed her on radio and the we're all going to the big glitzy awards ceremony on Thurs 15th.

The award is in recognition of her visiting over 80 schools over the past 5 years and speaking to over 35,000 young people about mental health. 

We're so proud

#GoJade