Community Foundation for Surrey Visits Gateway Community Garden

We are incredibly thankful to Community Foundation for Surrey for their support through the Mental Health Scale Up Fund. Their innovative approach to funding has not only enabled us to grow our provision over five years, but has also given us the flexibility and trust to adapt the programme alongside the changing needs of young people and families in Surrey.

When this funding began in 2022, the project focused on 14–18 year olds, delivering 12-week interventions particularly for young people not in education, employment or training. While this remains a hugely important part of our work, with many young people successfully re-engaging with education, together we have learned so much about what support is needed most.

Thanks to this flexible partnership, we have been able to:

• support increasing numbers of primary-aged children struggling with anxiety and school attendance
• work with whole families, supporting parents alongside their children
• move to a rolling programme so young people can access help when they need it most
• create a truly intergenerational space where young people of different ages learn and grow together

It was wonderful to see this in action today: members of Amber Foundation learning Tai Chi, younger children taking part in art therapy, and post-16 young people helping out in the gardens – all contributing to one welcoming and supportive community.

A huge thank you to everyone involved at Community Foundation for Surrey for championing this programme.

Find out more about our Gateway Community Garden here.

Full photo credit to Paul Murrihy