Impact Statement
The tremendous results we’ve witnessed reflect the effectiveness of our services, as we witness children not only building resilience and self-esteem but also developing life-long skills to manage their emotional well-being.
We’re thrilled to share the success of our efforts with you!
Contact usA dedicated children’s mental health service
We take great pride in the remarkable impact achieved this year in supporting the emotional well-being of local children and young people.
So far, we’ve supported 30 primary, secondary, lower middle and upper schools, and over 500 children and young people.
93%
found our support helpful or very helpful*
92.7%
felt support would make a difference in their lives*
77%
showed improvement across three or more subsets in pre/post-assessment scores
91%
demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the emotional section of impact assessments
97%
made progress towards SMART goals
500 / 30
children and young people / schools helped
* Figures based on children and young people who fully engaged and completed a student evaluation form in their last session.
Coping day to day with the impacts and effects of Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia has provento be immensely challenging for our child. Throughout her life so far, the school environment is one that she has found overwhelming, unforgiving, impenetrable and extremely difficult. Until her intervention with Bright Paths, school avoidance was high on her agenda, not because she doesn’t have the desire to achieve, quite the opposite in fact but her ability to mask uses every ounce of her energy throughout the school day just to try and fit in. Feeling exhausted, lost, misunderstood and friendless she felt unable to express or communicate her feelings in school and had become a people pleaser, desperate for acceptance in the school environment both with her peers and also teachers. From the age of 13 she was rapidly becoming a shadow of her former self, overthinking even the smallest detail, driven by anxiety and becoming increasingly irrational. Dissolving into meltdowns and often self-harming from the moment she walked through the front door, most of this frustrated behaviour was attributable to the school environment and was impacting family life as well as her own learning. Her masking and people pleasing meant that she had fallen in to the trap of a couple of coercive and controlling “friendships” which undermined her confidence even further.
BrightPaths intervention was pivotal in supporting our child to understand and begin to talk about her feelings in a trusted environment. Building her confidence, recognising her own voice and self-worth, she was expertly given the tools to help herself and the confidence begin to work out what she needed to get through each day in school and identify coping mechanisms.
The emotional support and validation for our child was key. She felt listened to and understood in a school environment for the first time. The fact that this led to a further intervention through the CANter programme, playing in to her passion for horses and continuing to develop her courage was wonderful. This was the difference, driving up her attendance in school and having a lasting impact on her ability to be mentally alert and present.
Overall, the effect of the Bright Paths intervention has been incredibly impactful not only for our child but for our whole family. The support far outweighed our expectations and has had a lasting impact in supporting her to begin to advocate for herself. Our child has a new found confidence and although masking is part of who she is, she is able to better regulate, manage and talk through issues rather than allowing them to build up, which is having a much better effect on her overall well-being. We also feel supported as parents and enabled to follow up on other initiatives and pathways to further encourage and support our child.
Natashia, you are a superstar and we simply cannot thank you and the Bright Paths team enough.
Parent of Mentee , 2024
Together, let’s empower children to reach their full potential
The invaluable support from funders like Central Bedfordshire Council, Hertfordshire Community Foundation, BLCF – Luton Youth Fund, and others enables us to create a lasting impact on children’s emotional well-being.
Funding is an ongoing need, and individuals, foundations, and businesses can support our mission in various ways. Everyone can contribute to creating a brighter future for our children using any of the alternatives highlighted below.
Make a Donation via PayPal
Your PayPal donation supports children and young people who need early emotional and neurodivergent-friendly help. Whether it’s a one-off gift or a monthly contribution, your support provides mentoring, resources and safe spaces for children who often can’t access support anywhere else. Every gift matters, and bigger contributions help reach more families who are waiting for help.
Supporting a child can be as simple as sending the tools they need. The wishlist includes items used directly in sessions, workshops and take-home packs, from sensory tools and fidget items to art supplies and emotional regulation resources. Everything you choose goes straight to a child or young person, helping them feel safe, calm and understood.
Our Amazon Wishlist
Volunteering with BrightPaths is about making a real difference. Whether you want to support children directly or contribute your skills behind the scenes, we’d love to hear from you.
We particularly value volunteers who are parents who’ve seen their children struggle with mental health or unmet needs in school, people who understand the challenges young people face fitting into neurotypical norms, or those who have faced challenges themselves and want to turn that experience into positive change.
If you have the passion, time and skills, we can always find a way for you to help and for us to support your growth too.
Contact us