From Research to Real Change: Co-Creating Emotional Support in Tower Hamlets

In this blog, Mehjabin and Nasrat reflect on their journey through a unique pilot project in Tower Hamlets, one that began with youth-led research into the emotional impact of the cost of living crisis, and grew into a series of collaborative workshops and community-building sessions. Blending lived experience, skill-sharing, and intergenerational dialogue, the project offered a space for learning, connection, and change – and it’s only just getting started.

Mehjabin: 

I’m Mehjabin and I was a peer researcher on a research project exploring emotional support for young people during the cost of living crisis. 

Since then I’ve been a participant in a community well-being pilot project based on the findings from that research. This involved community building sessions with young people and parents in Tower Hamlets, as well as several skills workshops focused on topics such as stress management, emotional resilience and communication, and financial well-being. 

It was really rewarding to see how our priorities from that first research project were put into action through these sessions. 

Responsive to feedback 

One thing that stuck out to me was how much it improved as the project went along and how responsive it was to our feedback and our ideas.  

It was a pilot project and on the back of the first session there were so many improvements and we could see that in the fact that so many of the group were coming back every single session, even though everyone is dealing with a lot of pressures at the moment and some of the participants we’re traveling from other parts of the borough. 

Community building 

I really appreciated how the project helped build connections and build a bit of community among the group – a group of us participants for example have met up outside of this project. 

One highlight was a session where young people and parents were mixed into teams and each team had to complete a series of puzzles and challenges in a race to get to the end win a prize. This was really enjoyable as each challenge required different skills and knowledge and this helped build connections between parents and young people across the teams. 

Skills sessions 

I think the skills workshops were really useful as well and I think without the community building sessions at the start of the project where we really put in time to build relationships and create a warm and welcoming environment, the communication and mental health workshops with both generations together would have felt a bit cringe, but I think we did it in such a nice way that it felt natural and everyone wanted to learn.  

Year 2 

I am now also joining the staff team to deliver year 2 of this project. 

Having been a participant during year 1, I’m looking forward to bringing those insights and learnings to helping design and run sessions and seeing where we can improve. 

The first year of the project was mostly during winter. 

I’m now really looking forward to being part of the team designing what will now be a summer edition of the project where we can start incorporating outdoor activities such as community gardening.  

Nasrat: 

My name is Nasrat. A couple of years ago I was a parent participant in Toynbee Hall’s research project exploring emotional support for young people during the cost-of-living crisis. Since then, I’ve been a part of a community well-being pilot project based on the findings from that research. I joined this both as a parent but also as part of the staff team helping to deliver the project, in particular supporting as an interpreter. This project involved community building sessions with young people aged 14-22 and parents of that generation in Tower Hamlets, as well as several skills workshops focused on topics such as stress management, emotional resilience and communication, and financial well-being. 

Experiences of the community wellbeing pilot 

Before the project started I had my anxieties about how it was going to go, especially as the project was going to be young people and their parents’ generation – I was worried that we wouldn’t understand each other or that there would be barriers between the generations. But after the first session that anxiety was gone as I saw young people and parents that I didn’t know at all creating a welcoming environment where everyone was comfortable saying how they feel and giving feedback. The icebreakers the young people designed for every session were really helpful for this. 

Skills sessions 

The sessions that were delivered by external professionals were so good because most of the time, as a parent of a young person that age, it’s hard to talk with them about some of these topics – it can feel really uncomfortable discussing them at home. Mental health, finances, approaches to parenting – these sessions did so well creating an environment where both parents and young people could learn about these topics together and share experiences and ideas.  

From a parent’s perspective, you are getting tools to help you provide support to your young adult children. And the young people also came out with a better understanding of where we’re coming from and what we’re going through as parents.  

Role as interpreter 

I’m also found my role as an interpreter on the project very rewarding as this helped make the sessions accessible for a group of parents who are less confident in English and that they could fully take part and come away with skills and knowledge. 

Year 2 

We’re starting year 2 of these sessions soon. We had so much fun and learning together and I’m really looking forward to the next stage of the project and seeing all the parents and young people in the group again. It was really rewarding to see how our priorities from that first research project were put into action.  

As Mehjabin steps into a new role helping to deliver the second year of the project, and Nasrat continues to support as both a parent and interpreter, their reflections show just how powerful co-created, community-led approaches can be. What started as a research project has grown into a shared space of trust, learning, and connection, one that continues to evolve in response to the needs and voices of those involved. With year two on the horizon, there’s real momentum to build on everything learned so far and continue strengthening emotional support and well-being for young people and families across Tower Hamlets.