To celebrate International Women’s Day, Chief Executive Susie Besant shares 10 things she has learned in 10 years of One-Eighty
Chief Executive Susie Besant created charity One-Eighty over 10 years ago. From two staff supporting just 12 young people, One-Eighty has grown into an award-winning charity which has turned around the lives of thousands of young people and their families across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. On International Women’s Day, Susie shares 10 things she has learned in 10 years of One-Eighty.
On children, young people and mental health:
There has been a dramatic rise in concern about the mental health of our children and young people, including those of primary school-age. These concerns pre-dated the Covid-19 pandemic which only served to exacerbate the situation. But despite this concern, mental health awareness, understanding, and crucially funding remains understated. This means that a high percentage of need for mental health support in children and young people remains unmet. As a result, many of the children and young people we work with have not attended school for many months or even years at a time, and have little access to services. This results in their needs becoming more complex, with many reaching crisis point.
With the right tools, strategies and support, children and young people can be the drivers of mental health interventions – supporting each other with existing mental health needs and working to prevent the need for intervention later in life. Our Make Me Smile project – a peer-to-peer mentoring mental health awareness project which offers a space for young people to develop a basic understanding of mental health and learn strategies to manage their worries - is evidence of this.
A holistic approach to supporting children and young people's mental health, in tandem with their educational development, is essential to enable resilience and independence.
A therapeutic approach to supporting mental health is as effective and sustainable as clinical models, particularly if it is implemented early enough.
No single approach works for all children and young people. In order to support their needs, it is essential to meet the young person where they are at, and tailor the underpinning supportive models to suit their unique needs. This enables long-term sustainable change.
On setting up and running a charity:
The first two years are the hardest! Starting from nothing, with nothing, you learn a lot…and quickly. Making mistakes is part of the journey – being prepared to learn from them is key.
Be bold and be ambitious. If you don't ask, you don't get! People are kind and want to help a good cause – no-one is ever going to look back in years to come and regret raising money for charity. And if you don't take risks, you'll never strive to do more.
Believe in your charity’s ethos and DNA, and thread it through every aspect of the organisation. Integrity is essential if you want to share a genuine message and make an impact.
Finding the right people to work with makes all the difference. Proactive and supportive trustees, a driven leadership team and motivated staff are essential. Without One-Eighty's 'village' of amazing individuals, our organisation would not be able to nurture and support the children and young people in the way that we do.
Be flexible and open to challenge - sometimes it is hard to make changes, but 'good pruning' enables healthy growth.