Feeling Strong

Organisation Vision, Mission & Aims Feeling Strong was founded on the 2nd April 2018 in response to an increasing need for non-clinical services that cater to young people who have faced mental health and wellbeing challenges living in Dundee. We deliver innovative services, youth-led campaigns and challenging lobbying to achieve our strategic aims. We are committed to a culture that recognises contributions, values everyone who plays a role at Feeling Strong and ensures that no young person feels as if their mental health is an insurmountable barrier to success. Feeling Strong believes that young people with mental health and wellbeing challenges are just as capable as those without, and with the proper support they can excel in work, education and life. Feeling Strong is a service delivery and campaigning organisation with the mission to improve the lives of young people living with mental health and wellbeing challenges in Dundee by fostering the skills, confidence and aspirations they need to flourish. Our organisational values are as follows; 1. Leadership - Young people are contributing to making a change in both Dundee and Scotland, but we should also play a part in leading it. We’re not afraid to stand up for what we believe in, even if that means making waves, and raising the voices of the voiceless to be leaders in their own right. 2. Empathy - Listening is easy, acting on what you hear is hard. We’ll work with our young people to really understand their experiences and use those to make our work relevant. We’ll use those experiences to create opportunities where there were none, and create an environment of respect, understanding and equity. 3. Inclusivity - We’ll make sure that everyone can get involved in what we do, standing alongside all young people who want to work with us, no matter their history or background. We know that different experiences play a big part in the barriers faced by our young people. Who We Support We exist to make sure that every young person in Dundee who has experienced a mental health or wellbeing challenge is supported to reach their full potential. This includes any young person aged 8-26. Our young people come to us through a variety of different pathways, including self-referral, referral from other organisational partnerships, as well as through youth partners (Schools, Colleges, and Universities). Regular Activities & Events Being a non-profit organisation, Feeling Strong's activities vary from year to year, however there are activities which are staples in our calendar. Our Peer Coaching & Listening Service launched in 2020 and meets every Wednesday, offering much needed support to young people across the city through listening therapy delivered in an informal environment. This allows young people to talk to individuals of a similar age, building positive relationships and relatability with the service provider; this is something often missed in mental health services for young people. Our activities tend to vary based on funding, but normally come under four primary work streams. These are: Research & Content, Learning & Skills, Recovery & Support, and Community & Outreach. Our aim for projects run under the category of Research & Content is the creation of resources that reflect the needs of young people in Dundee. We believe that resources that support young people with mental health and wellbeing challenges should be created by them. That is why we research and develop a range of resources that support the positive recovery of our young people while working closely together with the Dundee youth. So far we have created three different mental health resources, as well as an app. Our aim for projects under the category of Learning & Skills is to tackle low access rates to higher/further education among young people with mental health and wellbeing challenges. This involves a blended approach of soft skills development (through sport as an example) as well as workshops surround