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2024 kicks off with a brand-new series of Raising Teens on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, every Friday at 7pm from January 5, or you can catch up any time on BBC Sounds. 

This fifth series covers access to mental health services, supporting adolescent trauma, eating disorders, neurodiversity, and support in schools.

We know that many teenagers are struggling to access mental health services. In England, average waiting lists have risen by two-thirds in the last two years (The Guardian). Over half of those on a waiting list said that their mental health had deteriorated while they waited for support (Young Minds). The pandemic and cost of living crisis have both had an impact on what was already a growing crisis affecting young people. 

Many young people with neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and autism, also have long waits to get a diagnosis, let alone help. 

🎧 Listen to Episode 1: Getting Mental Health Support on BBC Sounds.

In this episode new series host, Clare Cowan, discusses how parents & carers can navigate the system to find the right services and resources for their child. Make (Good) Trouble’s Lola Ray has also talked to young people about the kinds of support they need and what they’ve done to find support. 

Our guests for episode 1 are:

  • Lisa Witherden from YMCA DownsLink Group, Head of wellbeing and therapeutic services
  • Mark Cox, Accident & Emergency Junior Doctor and founder at Lumi
  • Kai Willbridge, Practice Manager at BHCC for the Whitehawk Family Hub

If you’re wondering how parents can support their teens, and how we can make sure that support is accessible to every young person that needs it, tune in to BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, and BBC Sounds on Fridays at 7pm.

👋 Find out more about Raising Teens and listen to past episodes: Raising Teens.
👏 Raising Teens series 5 is supported by NHS Sussex.

Help and support: Access to services

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Hello! We celebrated 5 years of Make (Good) Trouble with a party – thanks to everyone who joined us! For those who don’t know our story, we began as Brighton5, aiming to reduce mental ill health in young people. Whilst that aim hasn’t changed, we’ve grown hugely in the last five years.

Au revoir Lola Ray!

We also said a fond farewell to Lola Ray who’s off on her travels for a year or so. She spoke to us before she left about her time at Make (Good) Trouble and what she’s learnt along the way. It was a lovely discussion.
👉 Read the interview with Lola here.

In the news:

Schools face rise in violence and behaviour issues 

There’s been a marked increase in violence and behaviour issues reported in schools, with more young people staying home from school, or just not attending lessons. The Guardian reported that, “Unmet special needs, mental health issues and persistent post-pandemic absence are all creating tensions in schools, which can result in breaches of the behaviour code.” (The Guardian: Headteachers in England tell of worsening behaviour of pupils – and parents.)

We believe that more investment and support should be given to cash-strapped schools with a bigger focus on student wellbeing rather than on exam results. The Sutton Trust reports that underinvestment has resulted in low morale among teachers, cuts to teaching staff, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) difficulty recruiting new staff.

👋 If you need help, take a look at our Help page on Education, exams and school refusal. One great resource is Not Fine in School, which is an organisation set up by parents of children who have experienced school attendance barriers.

📚 If you’re interested in delving deeper into this subject, there’s a fascinating and sobering report by Public First that looks into the reasons behind today’s “attendance crisis”.
Public First: Listening to, and learning from, parents in the attendance crisis.

One in five children and young people had a probable mental health disorder in 2023

New NHS data “found that 20.3% of eight to 16-year-olds had a probable mental disorder in 2023. Among 17 to 19-year-olds, the proportion was 23.3%, while in 20 to 25-year-olds it was 21.7%.” And while these numbers haven’t risen in the past year, they haven’t decreased either, and these figures are clearly far too high. Read the NHS Digital report.

👋 We have plenty of resources to help young people with mental health issues. Our BBC radio series Raising Teens has a wealth of advice and insights. You can find links to all episodes here – they cover everything from anxiety, loneliness and self-harm to cannabis, county lines, and understanding the teenage brain. We have a brand new series coming out in January, so watch this space for news!

💌 Did you know that you can get our round up straight to your inbox every month? Just subscribe here and we’ll do the rest!

MGT News!

There’s still time to sign up for our Winter Holiday Club!

🎭 There are still free places at our 3-day drama Holiday Club this December run by the amazing people at Dragon Drama. Find out more here 👉 Winter Woodland Drama Workshop.

The Catalyst protest banners 

Our latest Catalyst workshop with artist Kerry Lemon (below) was a great success with some amazing protest banners created. We’ll be running new creative workshops in the new year as part of The Catalyst programme.

Happy 40th birthday Hangleton & Knoll Project!

Make (Good) Trouble was commissioned to make a film to celebrate 40 years of the Hangleton & Knoll Project. If you don’t know about this amazing community in Brighton, take a look at the film!

That’s all for this issue. If you have any suggestions or news you think we should include in next month’s round up, please comment below or get in touch. 

💌 Did you know that you can get our round up straight to your inbox every month? Just subscribe here and we’ll do the rest!

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Lola Ray has worked at Make (Good) Trouble for the past five years – since she was 17 – first as a volunteer, and in the last few years as a young reporter and producer. This week we’re saying au revoir to her as she jets off on her travels for the next year or so. 

Before she went, we sat down for a chat about her time with us, and her hopes for the future.  

Can you describe what it was like when you first started working with Make (Good) Trouble – what was your first day like?

It’s been five years since I started working at Make (Good) Trouble (MGT). It’s been two years since I’ve been working on a daily basis. I remember the first day. We were in [MGT co-founder] Daisy’s kitchen, and I didn’t really know anyone apart from Lotti [who is now a Project Manager at MGT], and we had such a fun day. I can’t even remember what we did, but I just remember going home to my mum and I was really buzzing and I said, I’ve just had the most amazing day ever! It’s so cool and we’re doing this and they’ve got all these cool gadgets and stuff. And I was like, oh this feels really right. I knew it wasn’t going to be a job at the time but then whenever there was something happening, I was like, I’m there. I’m doing it. I’m going to be a part of that because it just felt like, first, a thing that was giving back and it felt really good to do that. But also, it was done in such a nice friendly way and it didn’t really feel like work. 

Lola filming with Make (Good) Trouble back in 2018, when we were known as Brighton5.

And then when I started working properly, it was back at Daisy’s house with Lotti, making a film about the Holiday Activity and Food programme for East Sussex County Council. And then we moved to the office and that was like another first day. I feel like I’ve had quite a few first days with MGT because there have been so many iterations of it. It’s been great.

What is the best part of your job?

I think it’s the people. I think us as a team has been amazing. And I think our BBC Raising Teens radio show has to be one of my favourite projects. I mean, there aren’t any negatives to that project at all. I feel like it has some of the biggest outreach as well for us. One of the most powerful interviews I did was for Series 2, with a group of teens and they spoke to me about loneliness, depression and grief. It was really moving.

BBC Sussex Raising Teens presenter Guy Lloyd and teen reporter Lola Ray

Lola with Raising Teens presenter, Guy Lloyd at BBC Radio Sussex

How do you feel you’ve grown within the company? 

So much! Because when I started working with MGT properly, I hadn’t really done much, to be honest. I’d had a couple of jobs, I’d done lots of tele-sales work, but I’ve literally learned everything I know from you guys – from how to do a spreadsheet to what all the acronyms in this industry are! I really feel like I’ve learned about people and the relationships that you have with different organisations or working directly with young people. 

Lola filming for Make (Good) Trouble

I feel like I’ve been able to do a bit of everything, which is really nice, and it’s definitely what I needed to help me to know what I wanted and what I enjoy doing, to be able to have a go at everything to see what works for me, and also getting knowledge in all those areas. I don’t think many people get to do stuff like that. Here, every day is different. 

What next for Lola Ray?

I’ve learnt so much being here for the last two years, but I had delayed my travel plans because of Covid – and I just happened to fall into Make (Good) Trouble after that, which has been amazing – but it’s time for me to go and just not live in Brighton anymore and do something else.

In the future, I don’t know if I’ll go more into production or into mental health. We’ll have to wait and see. I might have high expectations of everyone else compared to MGT!

And I’m not leaving, I’m just changing direction. It’s been so special to be part of this. And that it is something that has completely changed my life. And I don’t think I would be where I am today without it because I’ve learned so much. It’s so enriching, and the next person to come and work here is going to be very lucky to be a part of a team. 

All we’ve accomplished, from starting in Daisy’s kitchen, not really knowing any of you, to five years later, it’s started me off in life, really. And I think if I’d worked anywhere else, I wouldn’t have been so enriched as I’ve been with Make (Good) Trouble.

Lola has been invited to join our Advisory Group, so she’ll continue to help shape the direction of Make (Good) Trouble in the years to come. Thank you, Lola! You’ve been amazing. Enjoy your travels x

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Is it November already? This month has flown by! It’s been a busy month and we have lots coming up in the run up to the Christmas break…

One million children experienced destitution in 2022

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published their latest report on Destitution in the UK. It makes for sobering reading. A million children experienced destitution in 2022, around three times higher than in 2017. What kind of future is this promising our young people if they believe that those in power don’t care enough about them to keep them warm, dry and fed today? They have produced an interactive map of destitution. Local to us, Brighton & Hove has a high destitution rank of four (five is highest). 

We support JRF’s recommendations of “a bold and ambitious programme of action to address destitution and its corrosive impacts” and their call for the government to increase financial support to “ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support”. 

Get out in nature for free!

🌿 We spotted the news that the RSPB is opening up its reserves free to 16-24-year-olds from 6 November in order to encourage more young people to connect with nature. We love this – we’ve long advocated for young people to get outside for their mental health. 

Raising Teens explores mental health issues affecting young people

We’ve just finished recording our fifth series of Raising Teens. It’ll be broadcast on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey in the new year. It’s another fascinating series covering access to mental health services, trauma, eating disorders, the transition from teen to adult, mental health and neurodiversity, and support in schools. In each episode, presenter Clare Cowan hosts a panel of experts listening to young people talking about their experiences. It’s packed with insights, advice and information about where to get support. We’d like to add a huge thank you to all the professionals and young people who gave their time, along with the brilliant team at BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey. And to the team at NHS Sussex for supporting it. We can’t wait for you to hear it!

If you missed any of our previous Raising Teens series, you can find all the links here.  

Our Daisy at the Brighton Summit

Daisy was invited to be MC at this year’s Brighton Summit. I was a very proud sister, seeing her up on stage entertaining the audience and keeping the show on the road. Daisy has written a blog post about her experience, so treat yourself to her round up here. It was an amazing event and as always a great place to make new connections. We’ll be back next year – as will Daisy as MC!

Coming up…

The Catalyst programme is running new creative workshops in November and January. If your young person fancies making a punk protest banner, step this way! The Catalyst gives young people the opportunity to work with creative artists and sign up for a mentor who will offer career and wellbeing support and advice. We’ve had some amazing feedback from previous participants describing how they feel more confident and have made new friends after attending Catalyst workshops.

We’re running a Christmas Holiday Club in December with the amazing folk at Dragon Drama and the South Downs National Park. The club is for young people in receipt of free school meals – and is free. All the details and link to sign up are here. 

Au revoir Lola!

Our big news is that our amazing Lola Ray is leaving us in November (that’s Lola at the top of the page) and heading to Australia. Among Lola’s many roles at Make (Good) Trouble, are young reporter for our BBC radio show, Raising Teens, and Most Significant Change story collector for The Catalyst project. We’re excited to see how she gets on in her next adventure. Lola will always be one of our Trouble-Makers, and we hope that she’ll be able to work remotely for us on new projects. Our aim at Make (Good) Trouble has always been to provide a springboard for young people to jump into their future armed with new skills and resilience. Good luck Lola!

That’s all for this issue. If you have any suggestions or news you think we should include in next month’s round up, please comment below or get in touch.