Shifting power to young people

 
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Award-winning youth engagement services, led by young people

We believe in the transformative power of youth voices and envision a future where health and care services meet the needs of young people. We are dedicated to prioritising the active involvement of young people in shaping their communities and services.

Our Partners

Our growing community is made up of proactive young volunteers, young research participants, community leaders, and professional partners. 

 

Our Expertise & How We Can Help

Our job is to bridge gaps in knowledge to improve health and care services by placing the spotlight on youth voice, connecting people and places.

 

Enable youth-driven design

Empower young people to actively participate in designing the services they use in research, community, and healthcare settings.

Use workshops and forums and enable young people to voice their ideas and preferences to ensure services are tailored to their needs.

Develop strategic partnerships

Build your capacity as a service-led organisation to gather a wide-range of perspectives.

Use bespoke training and resources to facilitate and foster collaborative working relationships between young people and your staff.

Shape future health research

Identify and enrich your research priorities to ensure young voices are involved in decision-making.

Use steering groups and advisory panels to gather rich insights to steer and evidence decisions.

How we empower young people

Listen to Act is committed to providing valuable experiences to young people, through our volunteer programmes, designed to upskill, mentor, and coach young people.

We offer youth engagement solutions that not only enhance the skills of young participants, but also build their confidence and leadership skills through a trauma-informed and person-centred approach so that they can gain practical experience whilst making a positive impact within their communities.

"In terms of feedback, I felt they brought a much needed sense of perspective - a different outlook on a shared disaster. It was really important for the group to hear that young people have different priorities and concerns.

There was great reflection and articulation of their experiences and they facilitated and fielded questions really well. So just wanted to say another huge thanks!”

Hannah Fontana

Strategy, Research and Innovation Manager, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

“Listen to Act has been instrumental in helping us engage with young people regarding their mental health and supporting us in making sure their voices are heard."

Shamini Gnani

Population Health lead for the NIHR ARC Northwest London
Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London

“Listen to Act’s talk really helped bring to life to medical students how community organisations can support health and wellbeing."

Viral Thakerar

Placement Lead
Imperial College London

“A huge thank you to Alex for providing a brilliant talk for second- year medical students highlighting Listen to Act’s approach and insights from their work. Hearing insights from community organisations is really valuable to shape students’ approaches to community engagement and understanding of the impact that community collaborations can have."

Stephanie Powell

Community Collaboration Lead For Undergraduate Primary Care Education, Imperial College London

"Huge thank you, you guys were just amazing. It is a tough and desolate landscape sometimes for the young and now is perhaps tougher than ever, but they are also resilient, courageous and innovative."

Cate Latto

CNWL One Community Radio

"They were really easy to engage with and we valued their time and input."

Dr Kate O’Loughlin

St Mary’s Hospital

From listening to a full understanding

Using our trauma-informed four-step approach, we work closely with clients and partners to focus on and improve the health, well-being, and care needs of young people. We design and implement programmes that facilitate effective pathways to communication.

 
 

Listen

We consult with clients in healthcare, academia and research to understand their vision and service challenge to co-create a tailored engagement proposal. This will assess what we already know, identifies what knowledge is missing, and will offer solutions that helps to fill in knowledge gaps.

Engage

We set up safe and supportive spaces for workshops, activities, and events that facilitate genuine conversations with and between young people, partners, and professionals involved. Relevant promotional materials and resources are provided to build trust and knowledge of the project from the start.

 

Act

With support and guidance from Listen to Act engagement professionals, young people are provided with opportunities to influence service design and delivery. This often involves presenting, storytelling, creating resource packs for health professionals, peers, politicians or local authority staff.

Monitor

After young participants have acted, we assess the impact of the project with the client and young people. This is often carried out through focus groups or workshops. A report of key findings and recommendations is provided to clients and young people to share and further evidence change.

 

Current Projects

We're driven by the positive changes that can be made by putting young people's voices at the heart of every project.

 

Diabetes Care Service at St Mary’s Hospital in Westminster

We worked alongside St Mary's hospital staff to build a 9-month engagement programme that has been exploring what young people need to boost their service experience and general well-being.

Learn more

 

ARC Children and Young People’s Mental Health Infrastructure Programme

Tackling the lack of research on young people's mental health in Northwest London. We built an advisory group of young people across eight boroughs, providing opportunities to share their mental health priorities. In partnership with the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration.

Learn more

 

The North West London Schools Research Network

Mental and physical health problems among children and young people are on the rise. We have built a sustainable and supportive network of students, parents, and teaching staff to improve the health of school children.

Learn more

Award-Winning Work

 

Patient and public engagement

NIHR Imperial BRC PPIE Project Competition
We were delighted to win this award for patient and public engagement and our involvement on the ARC Outreach Alliance project from NIHR’s Imperial Biomedical Research Centre.

Our work was selected for showcasing the vital role of empowering youth to spearhead discussions and participate in research from the outset, ultimately shaping better outcomes.

Read more

Reports & Findings

 

The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of local young people

In collaboration Business and children's policy scrutiny committee.

June 2021

Download

Central London GP website audit by young people, for young people

A review of all local GP websites in collaboration with Central London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

June 2022

Download

Children and young people's emotional well-being and mental health in Westminster

In collaboration with Business and children's policy scrutiny committee.

March 2021

Download

Bridging the gap

Young people’s experiences of mental
health before and during the COVID-19
outbreak.

June 2020

Download

Have a question for us?

If you have question about Listen to Act, our approach to youth engagement, or have a project in mind, we will be happy to discuss it with you.

 
 

Alex Weston

Youth Engagement Manager
alex@listentoact.org
07563248673

Moussa Amine Sylla

Community Engagement Specialist
moussa@listentoact.org
07802487971

 

Let's build and develop services that not only meet the needs of the young people, but actively involves them in shaping a healthier future for all.