Body & Soul uses a community based approach to address the life threatening effects of childhood trauma, helping young people rediscover their identity and build the resilience they need to transform their lives.
Islington Giving has been supporting Body & Soul’s work on suicide prevention since 2016. This has included support to develop the pioneering You Are Not Alone (YANA) programme, which has now received funding to expand outside of Islington.
YANA supports young people at risk of suicide using a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy approach to teach practical coping techniques over a 24-week course. Taking a whole person approach, the programme also provides support and advice on wide-ranging practical issues, and helps young people to thrive by building a ‘scaffolding for life’. This includes 1:1 calls, additional therapy sessions and a range of enriching workshops, from dance and music to creating a community mural.
Funding from Islington Giving in 2022 also supported the pilot of Braver Together. This project builds on the work of YANA by developing support for parents, carers and family members of young people at risk of suicide, and so working to strengthen their support networks.
“Body & Soul have been a lifeline to me and my mental health.” ~ Young person engaging with Body & Soul
