SPIRIT AWARDS

Spirit of 2012 has today announced a £200,000 grant to The Diana Award towards a programme designed to reimagine mental health services for young people from racialised communities.

The Young Changemakers project aims to tackle the racial inequalities that exist in the access to, and quality of, mental health support for young people from all racialised communities, by placing them at the heart of reimagining and redesigning a mental health support service that is fit for purpose and culturally competent. The project is seeking to recruit 16–25-year-olds from racialised communities, upskilling them to develop proposals that improve wellbeing provision for their peers.

Young Changemakers is a three-year programme developed and delivered by UK Youth, Centre for Mental Health and The Diana Award with majority funding from the People’s Postcode Recovery Fund and Comic Relief Changemaker Fund.

The grant from Spirit of 2012 to The Diana Award will support a specific part of the programme focusing on embedding systems change. This will involve taking the outputs from the social action programme and disseminating them across the youth sector, formal education sector, clinical settings and policy arenas, using the reach and influence of the three national partners and amplifying the voices of young people who have the experience of the services and issues that affect them.

“The damage that the pandemic has had on the wellbeing of young people is widely recognised, and much has been said on the issue. For racialised communities who have already experienced years of systemic inequality in mental health provision, and their mental wellbeing hit disproportionately by the pandemic, the impact is immense. Spirit of 2012’s focus on inclusion for young people in racialised communities and learning and sharing what works in improving wellbeing aligns to the aims of Young Changemakers to bring about change. We are delighted to support The Diana Award in taking what they learn from the social action programme to influence the organisations responsible for mental wellbeing and embed change.”

Ruth Hollis, CEO of Spirit of 2012

“The Diana Award is absolutely delighted to receive this grant to reimagine mental health services for young people from racialised communities. We know young people are often closest to society’s problems with many at risk of poor mental health and low social mobility. We will be putting young people at the very heart of this programme by empowering them to voice their experiences on the issues that affect them. In the shadow of the pandemic, this programme is more urgent than ever.”

Tessy Ojo CBE, Chief Executive, The Diana Award

Spirit of 2012 is the London 2012 Games legacy fund. Spirit awards grants for inclusive arts, sports and volunteering activities in communities that bring people together to improve their wellbeing. The National Lottery Community Fund founded Spirit in 2013 with a £47million endowment to continue and recreate the spirit of pride, positivity and community that inspired people across the UK during the London 2012 Games.

The Diana Award was set up in memory of The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. The charity fosters, develops and inspires positive change in the lives of young people through three key programmes which include; a mentoring programme for young people at risk, a youth-led anti-bullying ambassadors’ campaign and a prestigious award which publicly recognises young people – The Diana Award.

Any call to actions should signpost to Changemakers

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