Healthy Dialogues
- Client: Black Thrive
- My role: Delivery lead, The Office of Art and Technology
- When: 2026, launched 11 September
- Funders: Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation / Impact on Urban Health, and NHS South East London Integrated Care Board
The client
Black Thrive coordinated the toolkit and holds it on behalf of the community. It was funded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation / Impact on Urban Health, and NHS South East London Integrated Care Board, and designed and built by The Office of Art and Technology.
The brief
Create a practical resource that helps adults support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of Black and mixed-heritage children and young people across South East London. It needed to be shaped by families themselves, and easy for parents, carers, teachers and other professionals to use.
How we did it
We spoke with more than 100 people, including about 25 young people, along with families, educators and mental health specialists. Everyone who took part was paid for their time. I set the consent, safeguarding and data minimisation rules for the research.
We also reviewed eleven studies on young people’s mental health across six boroughs, including a survey of 2,510 Southwark pupils. They showed gaps in support during the move to secondary school, and for the adults around young people. Those gaps became the chapters on transitions and on looking after yourself.
A learning partner, the Youth Involvement and Engagement Lab, ran a developmental evaluation alongside the build. Its feedback changed how we ran sessions, including widening topic guides beyond school and removing deficit framing.
What we made
- Research and co-design with Black and mixed-heritage families in South East London, with everyone who took part paid for their time
- A website of 28 plain-English chapters, from having the conversations to working with schools and services
- A five-minute reflective checklist, worked scenarios and practical tools for harder moments
- A searchable directory of local support by borough, and a need help now button on every page
- Built-in translation, no account or sign-up, and a mobile-first design tested on phones
My role
I was delivery lead at The Office of Art and Technology. I proposed the scope, chaired the programme board and was the main contact for the client, with weekly check-ins. I kept the risk register, managed the research and hosting suppliers, and built the website myself.
I wrote the launch and implementation plan, with a five-stage theory of change and a measure for each stage. I costed options for supporting use, such as school workshops or paying a trusted voluntary group in each borough, and revised the plan after feedback from the programme board and the evaluation partner. I also wrote the handover document for Black Thrive.
After launch, I ran my own UK-wide outreach campaign to get the toolkit in front of organisations that support young people.
Outcomes
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