We are delighted to share that Sunbeams hasbeen awarded a seven-year Deliver and Develop grant as part of the London Propel initiative, to support our work with girls, families and schools.

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The new funding builds on three years of previous Propel support, which helped us expand mentoring, group work andemotional wellbeing provision. This next stage allows us to continue that direct support while using what we learn to create wider, lasting change.

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For Sunbeams, systems change begins with the experiences of girls. What does one girl’s struggle tell us about the way concerns are noticed in school? What support would help her parents respondwith confidence? How can referral routes become clearer, and how can mainstreammental health services become more culturally responsive?

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Over the next seven years, our mentoring, group work, Youth Network, school programmes, parent engagement andpartnerships with mental health services will work together towards a shared goal: making early emotional support accessible, culturally safe and free from stigma.

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We want girls to feel able to ask for help sooner. We want parents and school staff to recognise difficulties before they escalate. We also want young women to progress from mentee to mentor and, over time, into leadership, education, youth work and mental health roles.

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Our plans are ambitious, but firmly grounded in work already happening. We know the direction we are travelling in,while recognising that needs will change over seven years. Girls, families,schools and partners will continue to shape the programme, and we are prepared to listen, learn and adapt.

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We are delighted to join the diverse network of Propel-funded organisations working towards change across London andwe look forward to contributing our experience of culturally grounded early help whilst learning from other organisations and communities on how lasting systems change really works!

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We are deeply grateful to London Propel andits partners for this long-term investment. It gives us the stability to support girls today while building a stronger early-help system for the future.

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