They all successfully applied for 2026 Kent and Medway Better Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Fund grants and are sharing an overall pot of £90,000 to make a difference to vulnerable individuals and families.
About the programme
The programme is funded by NHS Kent and Medway and delivered by Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Council.
Over the past eight years, the annual grant scheme has supported more than 130 organisations dedicated to saving lives and preventing self-harm.
This year's successful applicants
One of this year’s successful applicants, Papyrus, will pilot suicide prevention training for people with autism with specialist schools across Kent.
Gemma Rowan, Papyrus' Area Manager for England South and East, said: “We’ll be working across Kent with school staff and teachers to help improve awareness and support for autistic children and young people experiencing mental health struggles.
“It’s critical the voices and experiences of neurodiverse communities are reflected in our work.”
Other successful applicants this year included:
- Dandelion Time – a nature-based charity working across Kent and Medway to support children aged 6-14 who have suffered trauma, such as domestic abuse and neglect, and their families.
- Maidstone-based charity Blackthorn Trust - which works with Kenwood Trust to help people recovering addiction rebuild their lives. It’s outstanding work was also supported by a grant in 2024.
- Speak Up CIC – a Thanet not-for-profit organisation that will use its grant to launch a new ADHD Peer Support Group for adults aged 18 and over in East Kent..
Maggie Gallant, of Thanet's Speak Up CIC, with Dandelion Time Co-CEO Graham Carpenter, at a networking event to celebrate the organisations' grant awards
Speaking after an awards launch event at Dandelion Time's Maidstone site, the organisation's Co-Chief Executive Jane Angell-Payne said: "The support from the Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention Fund is incredibly valuable. At a time when many charities are facing significant funding pressures, flexible funding that supports our existing work is vital, helping us continue supporting more than 200 children and families each year and reach even more people when they need us.
"The launch event was a wonderful opportunity to bring together organisations working at the heart of mental health and suicide prevention. We look forward to seeing new connections, collaborations and ideas emerge that will benefit communities across Kent and Medway."
Dr Kate Langford, Chief Medical and Outcomes Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, said: “It is really heartening that so many different organisations came forward with projects that will make a real difference to people’s mental health and wellbeing across Kent and Medway.
“All of these organisations have demonstrated that they are dedicated to saving lives and preventing self-harm and that they are well placed in our communities to make a real difference to vulnerable individuals’ and families’ lives.
“It is particularly good to fund so many voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations - NHS Kent and Medway is committed to work with these organisations as they play such an important role in improving the health of people in our communities.”
“Congratulations to all our successful applicants and I look forward to following everyone's inspiring work”
KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Public Health, Jamie Henderson, said: “Once again we received an incredibly high number of strong applications for this long-running fund. It underlines the impressive work going on across Kent and Medway to help individuals and families dealing with poor mental health. Congratulations to all our successful applicants and I look forward to following everyone's inspiring work.”
KCC's Cabinet Member for Public Health, Jamie Henderson, hears from Dandelion Time's Julie Easy how working with handmade crafts at the charity's beautiful Maidstone site can help children and their familes heal
“...we're focusing on helping boost skills, opportunity, physically activity and social connections and supporting innovative organisations making a difference”
KCC's Director of Public Health, Professor Anjan Ghosh, said: "Good mental health is the foundation of a happy life. But it's not an advantage enjoyed by all, with residents living in deprived areas 64% more likely to experience conditions such as depression and anxiety. To tackle this deep-seated inequality, we're focusing on helping boost skills, opportunity, physically activity and social connections and supporting innovative organisations making a difference."
“...it’s inspirational to see the number of projects striving to help across the board”
Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Public Health, said: "This new round of funding is going to have a hugely positive impact on lives across Kent and Medway. Mental health issues take many different forms and affect people in many different circumstances, so it’s inspirational to see the number of projects striving to help across the board. Thanks to everyone who applied and thanks to all those working hard to help improve lives throughout Kent and Medway.”
Dandelion Time's therapeutic 22-acre site in West Farleigh is home to lots of animals, including chickens, donkeys, alpacas, sheep, rabbits ...and guinea pigs
Full list of successful applicants
Baby Umbrella
Provides emotional wellbeing support to vulnerable families new to parenting who are struggling with anxiety in West Kent.
Blackthorn Trust
Works with Kenwood Trust to run an ongoing rehabilitation programme for people recovering from addiction. The 6-month-long support helps people re-build their lives, including managing housing, debt, and past trauma, while developing resilience, skills, and confidence.
Dandelion Time
Supports children aged 6 to 14 who have suffered trauma, such as domestic abuse and neglect. Working together with the child’s parent or carer, the Family Support Programme uses nature to help build confidence and self-esteem, strengthen relationships with caregivers, and develop the skills to re-engage positively with school, home life and the wider community.
Empowera
Works with young people aged 11 to 18 across Kent and Medway to address the growing impact of algorithmic harm and harmful online content on mental health, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Grant funding will enable the charity to deliver youth participation workshops and collaborate with schools to raise awareness of online safety, mental health awareness, and safeguarding.
Live Music Now
Partnering with Team Lotus, specialist midwives for antenatal and postnatal Mental Health at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, grant funding will help pregnant women and new mothers in Medway and Swale who have experienced suicidal thoughts or a previous suicide attempt. Through workshops and one-to-one sessions with professional musicians, participants will co-write, record and perform a personal lullaby for their baby.
Medway Council Housing Services
Funding will be used to set up a welcoming safe space to support tenants manage their wellbeing and prevent poor mental health and anxiety.
One Big Family
They will use their grant to run weekly substance abuse and mental health group sessions at the charity’s 17-bed supported accommodation project in Medway.
Papyrus
This national charity will pilot a suicide prevention training working, adapted for people with autism, with specialist schools across Kent. The project will support school staff, teachers, pastoral teams and school leaders to build their confidence and skills in recognising and responding to suicide risk among autistic young people.
Red Rebel Collective
They will pilot a training programme to improve early identification of cyclical suicidal ideation linked to Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) across Kent and Medway. The Margate-based aim is to reduce repeat crisis care and increase early diagnosis and interventions.
Speak Up CIC
This Thanet not-for-profit organisation will use its grant to launch a new ADHD Peer Support Group for adults aged 18 and over living in East Kent. Sessions run by a lived-experience staff member and a trained volunteer will combine wellbeing activities, informative content, and structured peer-to-peer conversation focused on sharing coping strategies and reducing isolation.
The Dots
Working with the Rising Sun domestic abuse service, the Between Us project will develop resources and support for mothers to help them parent a child whose sexual abuser has died by suicide. The project will deal with deep and complex trauma and support women and children in Kent and Medway, as well as further afield.
The Family Services Foundation
The Mentoring and Support Group Meeting Service provides emotional support to under-represented groups who are separating, or separated, across Kent and Medway who are experiencing severe emotional distress, trauma, and isolation. The project specifically focuses on improving parental mental health, reducing feelings of suicidal ideation, and lowering relationship conflict during high-stress family breakdowns.
