Breakout Youth

Breakout Youth Profile Image

Zoe Grant

Ceo

Southampton

https://breakoutyouth.org.uk/

Mission

Breakout Youth improves the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people (YP) aged 11-25 across Hampshire and Isle of Wight (IOW) by providing innovative, specialist youth work, early intervention, advocacy and inclusive support that reduces health inequalities, tackles isolation and improves access/outcomes to health and care services. ves the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people (YP) aged 11-25 across Hampshire and Isle of Wight (IOW) by providing innovative, specialist youth work, early intervention, advocacy and inclusive support that reduces health inequalities, tackles isolation and improves access/outcomes to health and care services.

Category

Children and Youth

Additional Information

We deliver 7 weekly LGBTQ+ youth groups; one-to-one youth work; mental/physical health and wellbeing support; advocacy (developing partnership working); support for parents/carers; volunteering and leadership opportunities; accredited LGBTQ+ awareness training, school and community outreach; partnerships with health services to improve access and outcomes around health and wellbeing and positive transitions to adulthood. Breakout Youth supports LGBTQ+ YP, a community that experiences some of the poorest mental/physical health outcomes of any group of YP. Many experience anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, loneliness, discrimination, family rejection and barriers accessing appropriate healthcare. Local evidence, including the #BeeWell survey, consistently shows that Hampshire/IOW LGBTQ+ YP report significantly poorer wellbeing than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, particularly transgender and gender-diverse YP. We provide early intervention through specialist LGBTQ+ youth work, creating safe, trusted spaces where YP can improve their mental health, develop supportive peer relationships and build confidence to access wider health services. Our youth workers also advocate with schools, GPs, CAMHS and other professionals, helping YP overcome barriers to care and ensuring their voices are heard. Over the past year (25/26) we have supported 488 YP annually through 303 youth group sessions, 680 one-to-one support sessions and more than 14,000 individual interactions. This sustained, relationship-based approach enables us to identify emerging mental health concerns early and provide personalised support before problems escalate. We particularly focus on health inequalities experienced by LGBTQ+ YP. Our work recognises that health is shaped not only by clinical services, but by identity, discrimination, isolation, family relationships, education, housing, poverty, community connection and whether a YP feels safe and believed when asking for help. Our model therefore sits alongside statutory health services, helping YP overcome barriers to accessing appropriate support while also working with health professionals to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of services. Our innovation is not simply in providing another service; it is in creating a trusted, specialist community environment in which young people can develop the confidence, knowledge and relationships needed to access appropriate support. Breakout provides a bridge/connection between LGBTQ+ YP and health/care services, working in a trauma-informed, strengths based and youth led approach. During 2025/26 we directly supported 488 LGBTQ+ YP aged 11–25. We delivered 303 weekly youth group sessions with 2,634 attendances across seven locations (6 in person groups and one online group), alongside 680 one-to-one youth work sessions providing personalised mental health support, advocacy and early intervention. We also supported 42 parents and carers through around 100 dedicated support interactions. Many YP accessed multiple services, enabling us to provide flexible, holistic support tailored to individual needs and to build trusted relationships that improve mental health and engagement with health services.

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Help Wanted Ads

Aug 25, 2027

Breakout Youth- Support for LGBTQ+ young people in Hampshire- Pro bono help for website redesign

Description

Breakout Youth is a grass roots charity supporting LGBTQ+ young people aged 11- 25 across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight (IOW). We have been supporting LGBTQ+ young people for 33 years, and as we enter a particularly challenging time for the LGBTQ+ community (in particular trans young people), the need for our services, and the complex needs of the LGBTQ+ young people we support is increasing. We support young people from many intersecting minorities, including refugees and asylum seekers, young people coming from abusive homes/ environments and neurodiversity and ADHD (plus many others- no one person is ‘one thing’) We are looking for a website design company that might be interested in supporting us through a pro-bono partnership to redesign and rebuild our website, which would help us reach more LGBTQ+ young people in need of support like ours. Breakout Youth provides a safe, inclusive and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ young people, many of whom face significant barriers to accessing appropriate support. Through our youth groups, one-to-one support, advocacy, school and professional work, and support for parents and carers, we help young people build confidence, reduce isolation, improve their physical and mental wellbeing, feel connected to their communities, develop skills for their transition to adulthood and reach their potential. Our website is an important part of how young people find us. For someone who may be questioning their identity, feeling isolated, or looking for support for the first time, the website can be their first point of contact. We therefore want to create something that feels modern, accessible, welcoming, youth-friendly and genuinely representative of the young people we support. Our ambition is to develop a website that: Makes it easy for young people to find support and understand what we offer. Has been designed with and for LGBTQ+ young people, and inclusive to the intersectional needs of the young people we support Feels welcoming and safe to LGBTQ+ young people aged 11–25. Is accessible and inclusive, including for neurodivergent young people and those with additional accessibility needs. Clearly communicates our services, youth groups, events and support. Provides useful information for parents, carers, schools and professionals. Makes it easier for young people to get in touch or refer themselves for support. Reflects our values and the creativity and diversity of the young people we work with. Contains information for families, professionals and funders Promotes our accredited LGBTQ+ Awareness Training Is easy for our small team to manage and update. Provides a strong platform for our future growth and fundraising. We are particularly keen that the redesign is co-produced with young people, giving them a genuine voice in how the website looks, feels and works. We believe this would create something much more authentic and effective than simply designing a website for young people. As a small charity, our resources are limited and we are therefore exploring whether a design agency might be willing to support this project on a pro-bono or significantly discounted basis. In return, we would be delighted to develop a meaningful partnership that enables your team to demonstrate the social impact of its work and contribute directly to improving access to support for LGBTQ+ young people in our community. We appreciate that pro-bono opportunities are limited and that taking on a project such as this requires a significant commitment. However, we hope you might be interested in discussing what could be possible. I would be very happy to arrange an informal conversation to tell you more about Breakout Youth, our young people and what we are hoping to achieve with the website.

Skills Required

  • Web Development
  • Marketing
  • Strategic Marketing
  • Graphic Design
  • Networking
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Concept Development
  • Pr
  • Branding
  • Photography

Posted on Aug 25, 2026

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