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We’re on the telly! Yesterday morning we were interviewed by Malcolm Shaw from ITV Meridian News for a piece about Brighton5. Our teens, Lola and Chloe joined us and we were super impressed with how they performed in front of the camera. And thanks to Biba for stepping in last minute as our camera person!

Tell us what you think in the comments below and, more importantly, please share the link with your friends and on social media – let’s spread the word and get more people involved in Brighton5!

Brighton5 interviewed on ITV Meridian News

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Brighton5 film shootWe’re making a concerted effort over the next few weeks and months to raise our profile and drum up interest in Brighton5. Read all about it!

We’re getting ready for our first project, to create and produce video content for local schools and colleges. Our teens will learn skills in production, animation and music. They will work in teams, building relationships, and with expert mentors to gain a positive understanding of issues that affect their mental health, such as device addiction and negative body image.

We want to help teens to help themselves. With the help of local teens, parents and schools, colleges, Sussex Police as well as Brighton businesses, we hope to create positive and long term change.

Want to get involved? Subscribe to our blog, follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), or contact us and tell us your story.

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We have a WhatsApp group for the core team involved in Brighton5. Most days we share one or more news stories about the current mental health crisis that is affecting teens in the UK. A recent article reported that there had been a sharp rise in under-19s being treated by NHS mental health services.

The article states: “There were a total of 389,727 “active referrals” for people aged 18 or younger in April, a third higher than the same month two years ago, according to the latest statistics published by NHS Digital.

The number seeking help for conditions such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders is rising sharply.”

Meanwhile we push on with getting our crowdfunder video edited, getting the messaging for our crowdfunder page just right, and we continue to meet people, organisations and businesses who are interested in helping and getting involved.

More and more we feel that this project is so important. Daisy and I have wound down a lot of our other commitments and we are making Brighton5 our priority – one that we plan to use as a template to roll out to other towns and cities. It’s a big ask, but we are totally committed to creating a great big positive space for Brighton’s teens to create, build, learn and feel safe in. One where they have a voice and a say in what happens. This isn’t our company, it’s theirs.

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The joys of managing a start-up, social enterprise project are all now making themselves apparent. We’ve been knee-deep in spreadsheets, budgets, video edits, meetings and research, research, research. It’s been a fascinating if exhausting time!

Firstly a huge thank you to those who’ve answered our last-minute calls for help with everything from budget forecasting, legal to editing and music! One of the driving forces of Brighton5 has been the people who’ve rolled up their sleeves and got involved. We are forever grateful.

We’re planning our parent-focused radio show, which we hope to air on Radio Reverb this autumn – watch this space! We’re looking for parents, and experts to speak or contribute their stories on everything from teen stress and mental health issues to body confidence and technology and device addiction. Please get in touch if you have a story, question or issue we can discuss. Onwards!