Hello lovely people!

We are fundraising to support the launch of our first specialist Education & Wellbeing hub for children and families with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties. This specialist SEMH hub is the first of its kind and will provide a dedicated space to run a range of desperately needed programmes. These will include:

Mentoring and casework for young people with high levels of social isolation and anxiety, practical advocacy so young people can get their voices heard in a very complicated and bureaucratic system, therapeutic and peer support for parents so they are not left isolated and worried, creative therapeutic sessions for young people including wonderful stuff like narrative therapy, creative writing, art, drama, coding and project work as well as specialist small group education sessions for those who can't access mainstream school.

In the long term, we hope to be self-sufficient - we are launching a cafe on site, and have all sorts of exciting plans and have worked hard to set up self-sufficient funding streams. We are incredibly hard working and used to running things on shoe string budgets, relying on talented volunteers and constantly innovating to save resources. Our director has volunteered for over 3 years, and we have the most wonderful team and board. However, we really do need your help to get this off the ground. We really can't do this all by ourselves (we know, we've tried).

If this first hub is successful, then we want to replicate it so we can help even more people who need it.

The consequences of not being able to access support can have really devastating consequences. We don't think it's enough to care a bit, you have to care a lot if you want to change outcomes. We really do and we would love it if you help us to help these incredible kids and families.

The Leading Lights team and our band of amazing supporters will be taking on the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge; braving Snowdon in the North, Cadair Idris in mid-Wales, and Pen y Fan in the South. The Welsh Three Peaks includes a total walking distance of 17 miles (27.4km) and an ascent of 2334 metres (7657ft), usually in less than 24-hours!!

So please give generously if you can, every donation gets smiles and shouts of joy (really).

The Leading Lights team

BRINGING LOVE

xxxxxx

A note on us: Leading Lights was founded in 2014 by an experienced group of children’s specialists who recognised there was a huge shortfall in services available for young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties who needed specialist support to fulfil their potential.

In response from our client and statutory and charity partner feedback and overwhelming demand, we are expanding and refining our service offering to meet the overwhelming demand for our free services. Whilst we provided over 3,000 individually tailored outreach sessions to young people and families last year, in 2018 we hope to be able to offer 8,000 hours of support to children and their families as we open our first Community Education and Wellbeing Hub in Stokes Croft, central Bristol (launching in Summer 2018 if we can get the funds together)! Please do contact us if you would like to know more!!! xx