Hear from our support specialists - why do they love what they do?
With mental health waiting lists at an all-time high, our wellbeing services, like Pause, are needed more than ever. As our service reaches its 10-year anniversary, hear directly from our support workers on what such rewarding work means to them.
Pause stats
24,558
children and young people have been reached by specialist support workers at Pause since 2016
13,287
young people have been helped one-to-one at Pause hubs and family centres across Birmingham
Meaningful work
Life-changing work
Young people today are under a lot of pressure. From academia and financial concerns to body standards and family issues, the weight is getting heavier.
Our wellbeing services, like Pause in Birmingham, provide quick and accessible mental health support when young people need it, before their problems spiral to a crisis point.
Pause quotes - meaningful
“I think Pause is a foundation for young people in the West Midlands that needs to stay. It's so important for young people to know that they have somewhere to go when there is nothing else”
- Bev, Lead Practitioner
“I'm immensely motivated and satisfied when I actively engage with young people on a day-to-day basis, it feels meaningful. I enjoy it, I feel this is my calling.”
- Priya, Worker
“I think [it] has been quite impactful in the sense that people know we're here. Schools and voluntary community services know that we're here, and most importantly young people know we’re here.”
- Tahir, Lead Practitioner
After a feeling of not being listened to by previous professionals, I feel heard today.
- Young person
Building community
Building community
Not only is it improving the mental wellbeing of young people, but Pause is also bringing people together. Families, children, workers, coming together to reduce stigma around opening up, and increase representation across all backgrounds in the area.
"I feel like [they're] my family, it's been like this for years. I very much feel part of a big family. It's been more than seven years with Pause and The Children’s Society now."
- Priya
Community
“When I first started, I never saw many people from a similar background to me, whether that’s the South Asian community or BAME community or the global majority community, but that’s gradually changed over the years. I feel like we are slowly helping to change the stigma typically experienced in these communities that find it very difficult to talk about emotional wellbeing.”
- Tahir
“It's special because there is nothing else like it in the area, even ten years on... It’s accessible to young people that might never have gotten support otherwise. When people come here, they realise that it’s a service for every young person who needs help with their emotional wellbeing so everybody can see that they fit into that space.”
- Bev
I feel like we have been listened to and feel there is finally some help and people who care.
- Parent/Carer
Making a difference
Making a difference
Over its decade long operation, Pause has responded to the changing needs of the local community, evolving alongside the young people it supports, to shape the local emotional wellbeing provision across the city.
It has been essential in empowering communities – in empowering young people to share their feelings, their parents to understand their mental health, and professionals to make a difference.
Making a difference - quotes
“I remember a boy who came to us in the early days. He was very anxious ... Over three or four years he did lots of projects and even did public speaking. I saw him grow into this independent young person who was confident, and Pause really supported him on that journey. He wrote a letter for us to say how Pause was really quite impactful on his journey and how he loved his time here.”
- Tahir
“A few years ago, on a quiet day, there was a young person who came in. She had come in before, but on this particular day she was feeling suicidal ... She came in distressed, not wanting to be here and thinking of ways that she could potentially end her life. I just sat with her - I was patient, I was calm, I listened. As time went on, the conversation got lighter and lighter and lighter ... And she’d got to a point where she shared that she felt fine now.”
- Bev
“Just last week, I had a young person who ... came in to say that she’d got a part time job. This was a huge piece of news for her, and she wanted to share it with us. Pause is important in the lives of the young people we support; it is a place where they feel safe and at home.”
- Priya
Thank you for listening, I finally felt like someone cared.
- Young person
