We recently held our annual Mental Health Champions event, a celebration of youth voice, led by our e-wellbeing project. It was here we caught up with Tabs, always ready to ‘snap’ into action and an advocate for e-wellbeing and young people’s mental health.
For the past two years, Tabs has been our resident photographer at these events, capturing the energy and spirit of the Champions in action. But her involvement doesn’t stop there. She’s now also volunteering at our Youth Advice Centre (YAC) in Brighton, bringing her creativity and compassion to support even more young people.
We sat down with Tabs to hear more about her involvement with e-wellbeing, her role at YAC, and the aspirations that are driving her forward.
“I first got into photography during my A-Levels, and I heard about e-wellbeing through some friends at college. They were volunteering with the project and had taken part in the Mental Health Champions programme at our college. I also got involved and from that, I was asked to do some photography for one of their events last year and they kindly invited me back again this year.
“I’m currently studying Art History at university but my main passion is photography. It’s something I’d love to pursue professionally, so opportunities like this are brilliant for building my portfolio and gaining hands-on experience.
“I already knew YMCA DownsLink Group’s Leon through my work with e-wellbeing and the Mental Health Champions. Over the summer, I was keen to get more experience for my CV, so I reached out to ask if there were any opportunities in social media or marketing. As it happened, he was looking to relaunch the Youth Advice Centre’s social media page and there was an opportunity to help them do that. I’m learning so much about branding and consistency, it’s all really fascinating.
“I think YMCA DownsLink Group is such a brilliant charity. Both e-wellbeing and the Youth Advice Centre are incredibly inspiring and send out such a positive message. It’s so important that young people have access to the support they need and both of these services offer that in an accessible way.
“If anyone’s thinking about getting involved with e-wellbeing, I’d absolutely say go for it. It’s such a valuable opportunity. You make amazing friendships, build strong connections and develop a deeper understanding of mental health. You also get the chance to try out loads of different things from social media to public speaking and help bring about real change in your school. It’s a brilliant way to make a positive impact while gaining experience that really matters.”
