Impact beyond therapy: Outreach in Essex and Suffolk communities
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re proud to reflect on the incredible impact our Community Engagement team has made in supporting children’s mental health. From reaching nearly 7,000 people across Essex and Ipswich, Suffolk, to launching new initiatives and strengthening community connections, it’s been a year filled with growth and meaningful change.
What is Community Engagement?
Community Engagement is about involvement and active participation in initiatives that promote the welfare of the community. At Kids Inspire, we focus on:
improving resilience in local communities
raising awareness of Kids Inspire and our services
supporting young people and their families through our work.
Who is in the Community Engagement team?
Each of our Community Engagement Team is passionate about the emotional wellbeing of children, young people, their families and the communities these families live in.
In our team we have:
Carla – Community Engagement Manager
Romany – Community Engagement Officer
Jane – Community Engagement Officer
What is our approach?
We follow an asset-based approach, focusing on what’s strong within communities. Our collaborative mindset helps us work effectively with others to extend our reach and impact.
The team identify communities where there are high levels of deprivation, then we make approaches to schools and community assets in these areas to see if we can deliver a community event there and discuss what other services we can offer.
Early intervention
The team recognises the importance of early intervention. When we are delivering events in schools or the communities, teaching young people about resilience and empowerment and giving them tools is key to stop a small matter around wellbeing escalate to a full crisis.
What did we do in 2024?
Our Community Engagement work covered:
relationship building with schools: Collaborating with local schools to support students through free assemblies, workshops, and more.
community events and partnerships: engaging with local communities through events and partnerships.
delivery of Holiday Clubs at our Great Baddow office
the Voice youth group: empowering young people to grow in confidence, develop social skills, and make new friends in a safe, supportive environment
recruiting Community Engagement volunteers to assist with our aims.
2024 Team Highlights
We have had so many highlights this year, but these are five of our top ones:
Expanding our work into Ipswich, Suffolk
As a children’s mental health charity, we aspire to one day operate nationally. This year, thanks to funding from the National Lottery we began delivering school and community engagement in Suffolk, focusing on areas of high deprivation around Ipswich. Recognising a significant need, we made Ipswich our pilot area before we start expanding further into Suffolk.
Since May, we’ve connected with over 20 local organisations to raise awareness of Kids Inspire, deliver assemblies and workshops, and introduce our services to the community. Once relatively unknown in Ipswich, Kids Inspire is now recognised by many. We’ve also used these opportunities to inform schools about our therapy services.
PROM-Unity
We held this fantastic event for the first time in April, supporting young people attending their Prom or Leaver’s Ball who may not have had the opportunity to buy an outfit for various reasons. Thanks to generous donations from corporate partners, other organisations, and members of the public, there was a great selection of outfits for young people to choose from.
Over 100 young people found the perfect outfit, and we received wonderful feedback from parents, along with some lovely photos taken on the day of their prom.
“My daughter got the most amazing dress! We are so incredibly grateful; I could not have afforded to buy a dress like this and to see her look and feel so fabulous in it makes me so happy.”
We’re excited to announce that this event will return in April 2025, so keep an eye out for more details!
School engagement
The team have been delivering mental health assemblies and workshops to primary schools across Essex and Ipswich, Suffolk. By doing so we have presented to over 6,400 children and teachers. We’ve loved engaging with the children and helping them understand how to manage their emotions.
A key focus of our workshops for Year 6 is using LEGO, a tool accessible to all ages. It helps children visualise and understand their emotions. Earlier this year, Kids Inspire received a generous donation of LEGO from the LEGO Foundation, which has since become a staple in our school engagement toolkit.
“Several children have come to talk to me, inspired by your assembly.”
We have assembly and workshop spaces from January 2025 and are keen to visit primary schools in Local Authority areas of Braintree, Colchester and Ipswich. You can find out more about our mental health assemblies and workshops on our Community Engagement page.
Holiday Clubs
We have delivered eight holiday clubs at our Great Baddow office since the start of 2024. The clubs are aimed at Essex children ages 6-10 who are from low-income families, impacted by the cost of living. Our team collaborates with local organisations to carefully plan each session, offering a range of activities. Our Holiday Clubs gives children a safe space to socialise, explore new experiences, and provides parents and carers with a much-needed break. We even extended the timings to make the clubs longer, running from 10am, right through to 3pm!
The Voice
One of the highlights of The Voice, our youth group has been witnessing the incredible growth and development of many of our members. Some have gained confidence and moved on to pursue exciting opportunities, while others have proudly become Voice Champions. This was a newly created volunteer role, where they continue to build their confidence and support our team at community events in various meaningful ways. Many share their own personal mental health journeys.
As we celebrate successes from our original Voice members and their departure from our group, it means we have space to welcome new members are keen for more young people to join us at the Voice next year.
What’s next for 2025?
Our team will:
continue to support vulnerable communities across Essex and build our reach into Suffolk communities
deliver PROM-Unity 2025
delivering more school and community events in Essex and Suffolk
actively look for new members of the Voice
and to actively recruit more Community Engagement volunteers to support the team and even more children by expanding our reach.
Reflection from the team
Looking back on the year, we’re proud to have made a meaningful difference in vulnerable communities, providing free support through holiday clubs, prom outfits, and mental health assemblies ad workshops. These opportunities wouldn’t exist for many families without our commitment to offering them at no cost.
As the year ends, we reflect on the importance of kindness and compassion and encourage you to consider how you’ve made a difference, big or small, in your community.