Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition (CYPMHC)

This work was for a live event held in London a couple of months ago, it was run by the young members of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition https://cypmhc.org.uk/. The event was to celebrate the 15th birthday of the coalition. I attended and listened during the event, and then finished off the drawings post-event. These images were then circulated to keep the event's main messages alive, as well as to amplify the ongoing work of the coalition.

 

Merton Children’s Parliament

Had a lovely time yesterday, listening to children in southwest London in the Borough of Merton, as they were talking about their experiences of participating in the Children’s Parliament over the last couple of years.

The children were all around 11 and were really enthusiastic and very confident in speaking up, it was great to be a part of such a positive event. The Children’s Parliament will continue in the next academic year.

I was working digitally and prepared the first of the below images from briefing call notes and pre-designed the layout. The other 3 images were drawn directly from listening live.

Children's Service in Nottingham

I was up in Nottingham yesterday, scribing for a great group of people as part of a children's services conference. I was also telling the story of one person who'd had a really difficult start in life, but had managed to turn things around. Amazing what people are capable of...

As well as enjoying the group, I really loved riding the trams in Nottingham!

 

Illustration work, amplifying the voice of the child in Merton, southwest London

Some recent local authority work, for children's services in Merton. I really like the way children's voices are being listened to more, and citizenship is being developed at an early age these days.

Children's parliaments, young people doing peer to peer surveys for the council, children's mental health ambassadors in schools. I'm hoping all this involvement can help build a more engaged and better educated, and hopefully kinder generation of young people.
 

 I also want to bang my drum for using illustration in this way. To invest in the communication of messages is a way of honouring testimony and amplifying people's voices. It's especially impactful when expressing the voices of those who have previously been sidelined and overlooked. 

Illustration may often look 'pretty' or may be considered a 'nice to have', but it's worth investing in the people who surround you, be that a child, your staff, or someone you're trying to reach at a conference.

Ok, time to get off my illustration soapbox :)