What is Flip The Script Friday?

Flip The Script Friday is an event that takes place on a fortnightly basis where we invite organisations/adults onto our website/social media to answer the questions that young people have for them.

Why is it a thing?

This is an opportunity for young people’s voices to be heard and to have their questions answered. But equally, it’s a chance to destigmatize the discussion of mental health, highlight the great work that organisations are doing and to make reaching out for support from them less intimidating.

This week…

We collaborated with Project Hope. They are a youth-led project for 13-25 year olds that was set up at the beginning of lockdown to help tackle youth loneliness. The project provides social media activity with challenges, facts and information to help provide a sense of hope and also runs regular zoom sessions for young people across the UK (and beyond!) to connect and have fun. We run all sorts of sessions from creative writing, language learning, games nights to open mics and so much more. In the middle of lockdown we were running 3 sessions a week but are currently running 1 session a week on Saturdays at 7pm. There’s no adults involved in any part of the project so it really is a space just for young people. You don’t have to be feeling lonely to attend, you might just want to meet some new people or give something new a go.

Meet the employees

Naomi – Founder and coordinator of Project Hope. I lead the project and support all of the volunteers as well as attending most of the session.

Harry – Hosts team leader. Harry coordinates the hosts team, makes our posters and makes sure we have amazing sessions for young people each week

Freya – Admin and social media co-team leader. Freya posts some of our social media content as well as making sure our eventbrites and emails are up to date.

Q&A Time 

We had so many questions sent in by young people to our Instagram @platfform4yp and here are some of the highlights!

What do you think of the idea Flip the script?

I think it’s a fantastic idea to give young people a chance to ask questions and break down barriers between professionals and young people – we are all human after all! – Naomi

What is your favourite genre of music?

I don’t really have a favourite genre as such – I listen to lots of different stuff. My go to playlists are acoustic playlists or anything from musicals- Naomi

I’m a big fan of the 80s – I’ve got my parents to thank for that. – Harry

What do you think needs to change for people to receive better mental health support?

Support needs to be provided much earlier rather than waiting until young people reach crisis support. I also think there needs to be a lot more peer support available with a lot more co-production in mental health services too – Naomi

Support services need to listen to the voices of young service users and tailor the support that they offer to the needs of the young people they’re serving. – Harry

I think there needs to be more emphasis on early intervention and catching people before they become even more unwell. The high thresholds can make accessing support so tricky. – Freya

What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning and do the job you do?

Making connections with other young people. The volunteer team of young people have really become close friends of mine now too. Also just knowing we are creating a space for other young people to feel like they are part of something is awesome. – Naomi

Being able to connect with a group of like minded people who want to make the world a better place. – Harry

Meeting so many amazing people who inspire me to be the best I can be. – Freya

What is one piece of advice you were given that you will never forget?

“Feel the fear and do it anyway” I can’t remember when I first came across this but it’s been said to me in so many different ways. It’s always pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone and that’s led to so many awesome opportunities. It was also a huge part of the way I built Project Hope as we just wanted to give this huge idea a go and put the fear of failure to one side. – Naomi

“Take care of yourself, so that you can give the best of you to the world as opposed to just giving what’s left of you” – This really resonated with me, and reminds me of the importance of taking time for myself so that I can be at my best when I’m trying to create change. Burnout is real, and we have to be mindful of it.” – Harry

What is your spirit animal?

This is a good question and I wasn’t sure so I did a quiz! It says my spirit animal is a tiger, which is a weird coincidence as I was born in the Chinese year of the Tiger. It says this means Ienjoy dealing with life matters spontaneously, trusting my intuition and acting fast when needed and I think that’s pretty accurate. – Naomi

Can you explain/what do you think about déjà vu?

I don’t think I can but it’s a strange experience isn’t it? It’s something I occasionally experience too and it always takes me by surprise! – Naomi

If you could send the public one message about misconceptions that exist around mental health, what would it be?

You don’t have to be struggling with extreme levels of mental illness to deserve help. Whether you’ve been struggling for 5 years or 5 months, and regardless of how much you’re struggling, you deserve help and support. – Freya

What do you think of the ‘drop the diagnosis’ movement, is there a middle ground?

I think there is a middle ground. To me it’s not about saying that diagnosis isn’t helpful for anyone, for some having a way to name it is useful but for others it is really harmful. For me it’s about saying all of our experiences are unique and instead of making assumptions really listening on an individual level and listening to someone’s experiences in the context of their life story. – Naomi

I think that for some people having a diagnosis can be really helpful. I wish we lived in a world where people can get support regardless of diagnoses, but it can also be really helpful to have an answer for why I experience certain things and helps to make things make sense. – Freya

How do you look after yourself and your mental health/wellbeing when working?

Self-care is really important and also making connections and reaching out to others. Leading this project of young volunteers’ well-being has been my priority so checking in with them genuinely has been important and giving people breaks when they need it. The same for me really too, having breaks when things are tough, making sure I’m scheduling in some me time and reaching out to my friends if I need a chat (or often a rant!) – Naomi

Remembering that I am part of a team of wonderful people, and remembering that I can lean on them sometimes if I need support. – Harry

How do you look after yourself and your mental health/wellbeing when at home?

The same as with working really. My volunteer work and home often merge especially because of lockdown and the fact I do all of it from my bedroom. One of the biggest things for me is making sure I’m attending my sessions with my counsellor – I find that really helps to keep me on track and to start to learn more about myself. Also taking a step away from the screen and connecting with something creative – I love writing poetry or doing some art with a bit of music on in the background. – Naomi

Is there any stigma around the work you do? If so, what should people know about your role?

I feel like leading a project or your own project can sometimes feel hugely daunting to any young person, like it’s something only certain people can do. But I want young people to know that anyone can lead, if you’ve got an idea of a campaign you want to run or something you want to do reach out to like minded people and you can make it happen. I think people often think I’ve got it all together running this project; really I’m just winging it everyday! – Naomi 

Or 

Project Hope is a project that aims to tackle:

Youth loneliness, which I think is massive, I talked about. We often associate loneliness with older people but so many young people feel it too. Our role as a project is to break down those barriers to talking about it but also create a space where we don’t often directly talk about loneliness just create a space where young people can meet each other and have some fun safely. – Naomi

What was your favourite subject in school? Why?

I loved most of my subjects at school but I think English was probably one of my favourites. I loved writing short stories and reading so it was great. I think the main thing that made me love any of my subjects though was when I really got on with the teachers and knew they really cared for us as students. -Naomi

What is your favourite colour?

Blue but more specifically a teal kind of colour – Naomi

If you had the opportunity to send a message to young people what would it be?

You are agents of change, each and every day, whether that’s in the life of an individual, within your community or in the world. Your actions are powerful, even the smallest ones. Everything that you do sends a message to the world, make sure the message your sending is a message of care and love. – Harry

There’s no shame in feeling lonely – it’s a difficult feeling and can even be there when we are surrounded by people. If you are feeling alone or lonely then reach out and talk about those experiences and if you want a space to feel a bit less alone then you’re always welcome in our Project Hope sessions. – Naomi

Any advice for YP in lockdown?

This firebreak lockdown is tough because it can feel unfair when different parts of the UK are at different stages. My biggest piece of advice is to stay connected with other people even if that’s virtually. Call/message your friends, join online sessions with other people – not only does it give you something to do but it can be a good distraction from the tough situation we are all in right now. – Naomi

Do you think of the people you support once you leave work?

I never leave work as such with Project Hope because of it being a volunteer role. I’m always thinking about our next session, project or idea. So yes I guess I always am thinking about young people I meet and quite often I find myself thinking about the young people who have joined our sessions (even if they only joined once) and wondering how they’re coping with everything. – Naomi

What is the first thing you will do when lockdown is completely over?

Go and see my best friend (who’s also one of the Project Hope volunteers). We’ve always been long distance friends and have never seen each other often even before lockdown but it’s hard not having the option to even go and see her. So definitely go and stay with her for a bit and go on a bit of an adventure! – Naomi

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The ability to never get hungry. Food is such an inconvenience when you’re in a rush! – Harry

I’d love to be able to fly! I once did a skydive and I found floating under the parachute so peaceful, so I’d love to be able to have that experience without falling from the sky!! But also it would help me to get to places quicker – before lockdown I was travelling to different places in the UK a lot so would love to make those journeys quicker   – Naomi

Does co-production play a role in your work?

The whole project was designed and led by young people with no input from the adults – it’s as youth-led as it possibly could be. I think we could do more to get other young people’s views and ideas about the project too – Naomi

What is one thing you would change about the mental health sector in an ideal world?

In an ideal world I’d like it to be a more human system, more focused on kindness and compassion. A system that has time to truly listen and doesn’t keep letting people down so badly. – Naomi 

What do you think the barriers are for young people accessing services, and what would you do to break them?

Services that don’t teach young people where they’re at. I’m fed up of being told that young people are hard to reach because it’s the service’s responsibilities to break down the barriers. One of the things we do with Project Hope is find a variety of ways to engage. So we use our social media to provide challenges and fan activities to those who don’t feel comfortable joining our sessions. But also when young people decide they want to join one of our sessions it’s totally okay if they want their camera and mic off and just use the chat function on zoom. We’re always happy to have a chat with someone before they join. Young people can let us know what works for them and what helps them and we will make that happen – Naomi

Do you enjoy what you do?

I love what we do!! This project has given me a sense of hope and connection as much as it has out participants. We have so much fun in our sessions and I’m really proud of everyone in the team – Naomi

What change do you hope to see in the future from the work with Project Hope?

More open conversations about loneliness in young people. Adults taking notice of the power young people have to make a difference and being more willing to listen. More spaces for young people to connect in whatever way feels comfortable for them – Naomi

How has Project Hope had a positive change on young people accessing your service?

It’s given young people a space at a really difficult time in the world to meet new people, have fun and learn new stuff. We’ve helped young people to make friends across the whole of the UK and even the world and have seen the impact that’s had on the well-being of some of our regular participants who’ve massively grown in confidence since they first joined. As a team we’ve also grown a really strong bond and many of the team have developed really awesome leadership skills! – Naomi

What made you want to become a part of Project Hope?

I wanted to set up Project Hope because of my own experiences of feeling alone. I’ve felt lonely for a large part of my life and have really struggled to find spaces that worked for me to make new friends. When lockdown hit I was really worried young people would feel even more lonely not being able to go to school, youth clubs and sports clubs etc so wanted to create an online space to help with that. – Naomi

What advice would you give to young people about this current lockdown?

Be kind to yourself! It’s completely okay if you’re not being as productive as you’d like at the moment. However you’re surviving this is completely okay. Focus on looking after yourself! – Freya

Other than your work with Project Hope, what else do you do?

In my day job I’m a support worker providing 1-2-1 support to young people. But I’m also involved in lots of other volunteering and youth leadership stuff outside of Project Hope, including being a trustee at Platfform – Naomi

That's a wrap! Thank you so much to Chris and South Wales Police for taking the time to do this Q&A and for supporting Platfform4YP!

Want to get involved with Project Hope! Go and follow them on instagram @ylprojecthope!

Missed out on asking a question this time? No Worries! Keep an eye on our Instagram @platfform4yp for the next Flip The Script! Want to ask a specific individual/organisation questions? DM us and we will make it happen! Until next time!