HSYAReview2024 - Flipbook - Page 5
Emerge Advocacy
Eikon
Big Leaf Foundation
We support young people who are
coming into A&E departments across
Surrey because of mental health
issues. Sitting with them in hospital,
our team provide reassurance and
encourage young people to engage
effectively with staff. We continue to
support them for three months post
discharge, building relationship and
connecting young people with
community resources to reduce risk of
further crises, resulting in a reduction
in demand on Police and Paramedics,
and strengthening communities.
Eikon is helping children and young
people feel safe, heard and supported.
We listen, talk, and help them build the
skills and confidence they need to
thrive. And we work with families and
professionals to make sure that
everyone gets the support they need.
We are a registered charity that works
with displaced young people aged 16-25
living in Surrey. We provide educational,
therapeutic, and community-focused
activities that combat social isolation and
empower young people to build safe and
fulfilling lives in the UK. We currently
support ~300 young people from 21
countries. The experience of
resettlement is often overwhelming and
difficult, leaving them vulnerable to
loneliness, isolation and anxiety, negative
external influences or self-destructive
behaviour. We want to engage our young
people to embrace opportunities
available to them, and to develop their
unique talents and abilities so they can
move forward with renewed optimism.
Our project team meet young people
at their point of need and begin to
build a trusting relationship with them
in hospital which continues into the
community post discharge. By doing
this and connecting young people with
community resources, and helps them
to reconnect with a sense of hope and
purpose for their futures.
At the HSYA Showcase last year we
were approached by a staff member of
another charity who told us that
Emerge had actually supported her a
number of years ago when she was in
crisis. She told us that it had helped
with her recovery and impacted her to
the extent that she decided to pursue
a similar line of work. She explained
that her sessions with Emerge
equipped her to be there for other
young people and she wanted us to
know how much difference it had
made to her.
We are incredibly grateful for the
support of the HSYA in helping us to
be there for young people, and in
bringing together like-minded charities
after a common goal of seeing young
people empowered and, in turn,
becoming able to invest in their
communities.
For 30 years Eikon has been
empowering and supporting children
and young people across Surrey. Our
focus is on prevention or helping early
on before a concern becomes a crisis.
We work with them directly in their
schools and communities providing one
to one and group support, as well as
with and through partners, supporting
them to deliver services that improve
young people’s physical and emotional
wellbeing and mental health. Our vision
is for all children and young people to
be safe and thrive!
Eikon's summer transition programme
supports young people in Elmbridge
aged 10-12 who are either anxious
about the move to secondary school or
at risk of school dropout. We work with
them on their own set goals through pre
and post summer 1:1 sessions and
group sessions and offer summer
workshops on themes such as
wellbeing and mindfulness, organising
and getting to school, friendship,
bullying vs banter, online safety and
more. We also support parents and
carers to help their young person. The
programme aims to build their skills,
confidence, and feel more motivated to
start secondary school with a positive
mindset.
Every summer for the past four years,
Big Leaf has run a Summer School
programme, focused on core
English/Maths proficiency, and physical
activity/exercise, alongside workshops
with community partners such as Surrey
Police, Surrey University, and members
of the community. This programme has
been very popular with Big Leaf
beneficiaries and has gradually evolved
and grown year-on-year both in scope
(breadth of the programme) and reach
(number and diversity of participants).
The Summer School is well aligned with
the aims of the HYSA in two main ways:
Firstly, combating isolation and assisting
with everyday interactions guards
against negative external influences (eg
vulnerability to contact with extremist or
criminal groups, exploitative and illegal
working arrangements); and secondly,
the workshops specifically focus on law
and safety to help build understanding
and trust in the police and other
authorities (eg accidental criminal
behaviour due to misunderstanding of
UK law, and antisocial behaviours around
drugs and alcohol).
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