Amelie Heselton was nominated for the award by Hannah Price for her fantastic commitment towards the On Target programme. 

Hannah said… 

‘Amelie has made a massive commitment to the programme by overcoming her fears and facing her trauma head on.’ 

The On Target Programme is an innovative and comprehensive early intervention mental health programme delivered to secondary schools in the Liverpool region and beyond. The programme aims to deliver workshops filled with activities to encourage students to develop skills such as resilience, coping strategies, challenging negative thoughts and more. Through this programme, we empower young people to take charge of their own wellbeing and strive to address and combat the multifaceted issues surrounding mental health in educational settings and foster a mentally healthy school environment. 

Last year Amelie was unfortunately involved in a Road Traffic Collision where she was hit by a car. Amelie sustained a bad injury to her leg that left her homebound, taking some time away from school. Returning to school in September to start year 10, Amelie found it very overwhelming and difficult to catch up with the work she had missed, as well as socialising herself into school again. Amelie struggled following her accident with anxiety and overall poor mental health due to the severe trauma she had sustained. When first attending the On Target programme, Amelie's coping mechanism was to make jokes about her trauma, so she didn't have to talk about it. After the 6 weeks she spent investing in her wellbeing on the programme, she is now much more open about what happened which is a massive achievement and has been open to seeking additional support externally.  

The On Target Programme helped Amelie by allowing her to have a safe space to speak about how she was feeling and get support from myself and her peers. The programme empowered Amelie to come to terms with her anxiety and realise that it is okay to speak out when things aren’t great within yourself.

This is important as Amelie learnt that as a young person, she must take care of herself and do what is best for her. Amelie struggled with the idea of not being 'perfect' and I think this has been a huge learning curve for her that it is okay to ask for support. Her mental health has dramatically improved and she is now able to get the help she needs. 

Hannah reflected on Amelie’s progress: ‘I am immensely proud of the self-reflection and dedication Amelie has put into the programme and herself. Her progress made from the beginning of the programme to now is huge and her attitude to anxiety and mental health in general is proactive and accepting. She should be very proud of herself for how she has grown as an individual throughout her time on this programme’.