Step Forward

Who we are

Step Forward is a young people’s charity serving Tower Hamlets/East London.  We provide therapeutic and personal development support to children and young people (CYP) aged 11-25, particularly those affected by poverty and disadvantage.  Our main activities are:

·       Counselling, CBT and Personal Development support

·       LGBTQ+ support 

·       School holiday wellbeing activities

·       Outreach work to schools and community settings

Our culture and values

Our aim is to help young people thrive, develop and grow to reach their full potential in life.  Our services are free, confidential, LGBTQI+ inclusive and culturally sensitive, helping people who are underserved or hesitant to engage with conventional mental health services.

Our values:

Inclusive - To ensure accessible, flexible support services to young people. Providing an open door for all young people, not turning people away who need our services. All young people deserve non-judgemental support services, that they should be able to understand their own rights and responsibilities

Warm-To ensure that all young people have a warm and welcoming environment. Providing confidential support  services from entrusted professionals. All people deserve to experience warmth, hope, acceptance and ¨love¨ in their lives.

Empowering- To ensure that all young people are heard and able to make informed choices in their lives.Providing opportunities for young people to get the support and encouragement they need to develop and grow. All young people are important and deserve to realise their full potential in life.

Inspirational-To ensure young people are inspired to make positive change. Providing an engaging personalised package of support to young people. All young people are exceptional and deserve support from passionate and committed individuals

Innovative- To ensure  provision of support services which are not available elsewhere. Providing an effective, dynamic and unique blend of approaches and interventions for young people aged between 11-25 years. All young people are different and deserve to have evolving services reflective of their needs.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Step Forward recognises that groups and individuals in our society have been, and continue to be, discriminated against, and that both direct and indirect discriminatory practices have negative effects.   We are therefore committed to encouraging Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, to eliminating unlawful discrimination, and to ensuring that our ethos of respect, inclusion, support and empowerment underpins all our activities.

We aim to provide a welcoming environment that promotes and reflects cultural and social diversity and is equally accessible to all.  We aim to recruit and sustain a team of staff, volunteers and trustees which reflects the community in which we serve and have the skills needed to deliver the services we offer.