Emily’s story

This month we celebrate three years of partnership with our charity partner, Action for Children.

We have achieved an incredible amount during our partnership so far; your support has had a hugely positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people, who have been helped through Action for Children’s pioneering schools-based mental health initiative, the Blues Programme.

Today, one young person, who has benefitted from the programme, has kindly agreed to share her story.

Emily joined the Blues Programme just after she had started Year 12. The jump from GCSE’s to A-Levels was very challenging, and she began to become stressed about her schoolwork. Emily struggled with balancing her workload, while looking after her little brother.

For Emily, the group setting of the Blues Programme enabled her to open up about her struggles and get involved with discussions.

‘It really helped to just have a group of people to talk to,’ she said. ‘I also liked listening to other people’s problems and trying to help them.’

Since completing the Blues Programme, Emily has been able to manage her workload better in school, using the techniques taught in the group to help her cope with her daily hassles and change her negative thoughts. Emily has also been teaching others the skills she learned to help create a more positive environment.

When they finish the course, Blues Programme graduates complete a questionnaire to understand their progress. For Emily, her results showed a significant change in symptoms of anxiety and stress. Emily has since encouraged others to join the programme so that they can learn new coping techniques.

‘It can only make things better,’ she said. ‘The Blues Programme has really helped me deal better with real life situations.’

Thanks to the generous support from colleagues, Emily learned the techniques to support her through a stressful period of school and helped prepare her for the rest of her life. With your continued support for Action for Children, we can keep helping young people like Emily with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.