King's College London

The REACH team have been working closely with young people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds in south London to support mental health in contexts of poverty, racism, and discrimination.

The Festival is designed to bring young people together to discuss their experiences during the pandemic and, most importantly, what we need to do now to enable young people to thrive.

Young people may often feel overlooked and unheard, and REACH understands the importance of including young people in conversations surrounding their own futures. In bringing young people together, we’re hoping to amplify their voices to help shape mental health, education and government policies directly affecting young people. It is only through their thoughts and opinions that steps towards positive change are made possible.

The REACH project is a large scale study of over 4,000 young people aged 11 to 14 (Years 7 to 9), funded by the European Union, and conducted by researchers from King's College London. The aim is to understand better what factors lead to good mental health and what factors lead to poor mental health in young people from all backgrounds.

The team will be hosting a variety of workshops, music, competitions, food and much more! This includes some very special guests including, Jeremiah Emmanuel, A Collective Sound, Breaking Mad Team, Black Thrive, Soothsayers and Youthsayers!

If anyone would like to get involved in helping out on the day, the REACH team are looking for some volunteers to support. Please contact Jade Morris (jade.morris@kcl.ac.uk) or the REACH team (reach@kcl.ac.uk) for further information.

You can sign up to the event here and find more out about the Festival here.