PROJECT
Element
FUNDING
It costs local authorities £2,500 for 12 two-hour sessions for 10 participants. The scheme is also supported by The Shackleton Foundation and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
BACKGROUND
Element - originally known as Storeys - was founded in 2016 by Alex Sayers and Elo Acland after the pair took part in a social innovation course, which saw them undertake placements in a pupil referral unit and leaving care team and discover unmet emotional support needs. Co-designed with care leavers in south west London, the scheme has supported 78 young people across Richmond, Kingston, Westminster, Hackney, Haringey and Kensington and Chelsea.
ACTION
Social workers or personal advisers refer care leavers needing help with self-confidence, self-expression and managing emotions. Up to 10 participants meet weekly on two consecutive evenings for six weeks, where they can express themselves through arts including photography, poetry, drama and craft.
Sayers says Element helps participants "find their own purpose, by tapping into the elements that make them unique". After identifying their strengths through a personality test, they discuss how to use these most effectively in daily life, setting realistic short-term goals. During the course they explore how to influence others' perceptions of them, draw strength from the things most important to them, and use things that motivate them to create positive change. In the final week, they discuss what success means to them. Sayers says they are given the "reassuring and powerful" message that they "can be a whole range of things, but if they feel happy, stable and comfortable, then that's success".
An individual logbook reminds participants of their strengths and the strategies they have learned to boost wellbeing. They build a portfolio of artwork, which is exhibited at venues including Tate Britain. The final session includes one-to-one support to identify next steps and participants support each other when the course has finished.
OUTCOME
Feedback from 48 participants found 87 per cent reported more positive thinking after the project. Three months afterwards, 80 per cent said they were managing emotions through skills developed through Element. Meanwhile, 59 per cent were linked to further opportunities, including employability programmes.
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