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Four years ago today, on International Women’s Day, the seed of an idea was planted – it grew and became what is now Make (Good) Trouble, a company run by three women. Our idea was to give young people a voice, to help them to be more resilient and to become positive change-makers. We wanted to address the issues young people faced, and the problems parents had in understanding them.

Today, five young people talked to us about who inspires them and what makes a strong woman.

Thanks to Gemma, Astrid, Kaia, Daisy and Jude for their contributions -all posted below – and to Amelie for her IWD takeover on our Instagram today!

Amelie takes over the Make (Good) Trouble instagram account for IWD2021

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Eating disorders can manifest themselves in many ways: anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder – and shades in between. Anorexia is a frightening illness and has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Why does this issue mainly affect girls? Are boys who work out at the gym also affected? How can parents spot the signs and find ways to get help for their teen?

We’ve pulled together some resources that will help you better understand this debilitating illness.

A great place to start is to listen to our radio episode of Raising Teens. We had a fascinating discussion that looked at the realities of dealing with this mental illness and how it affects teenagers and their families.

🎧 Listen to Raising Teens: Eating disorders

🎧 Listen to Lola’s extended interview with a teen who’s experienced an eating disorder

Beat, the eating disorders charity, has created this brilliant site with loads of useful information and what you can do to help raise awareness.

Follow Beat on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Beat Helpline 0808 801 0677
Under-18s Youthline 0808 801 0711
Beat also offers Echo peer coaching 

The Hub of Hope, a national mental health database of organisations and charities across the country who offer local advice and support. Includes a Talk Now button connecting users directly to the Samaritans 

NHS advice and information about eating disorders

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Anne Longfield’s final speech today as Children’s Commissioner for England put children front and centre and asked the government if it is “serious about ‘building back better’ and ‘levelling up’?” Anne had a lot to say about the need for better care for vulnerable young people whose problems have been exacerbated by Covid.

What really struck a chord with us was Anne’s point that “the system needs to help professionals develop relationships with children.” And whilst this might seem like a no-brainer, she also said, “I have been shocked to discover that many officials have never met any of the children they are responsible for.”

This point is fundamentally at the heart of Make (Good) Trouble’s ethos, which is to give young people a voice, and to give them agency in their own lives and their futures. Young people are co-creators on all our projects, giving them new and transferable skills in digital media production in the process.

Stats on England's left behind children from Anne Longfield's final speech
Stats on England’s left behind children, slide from Anne Longfield’s final speech
Anne Longfield’s final speech as Children’s Commissioner for England

During her six-year tenure as Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne has been a brilliant champion for children. She made time to connect with Make (Good) Trouble and was interviewed by our young reporter Lola, and later by a group of teens who answered Anne’s questions.

Lola interviews Anne Longfield

Anne’s focus has been to listen to the voices of young people, and particularly vulnerable children such as those in care or those in detention “in secure children’s homes, secure training centre, young offenders institutions, mental health wards and other residential placements, either for their own safety or the safety of others”. Her focus on building up good data on children has shone a light on those in poverty or at risk of being drawn into gangs and county lines. “Vulnerable children stay in the ‘its too difficult’ box”, she said, adding, “people in charge of the system, don’t understand the needs of children”.

Impacts of the pandemic on children: slide from Anne Longfield’s final speech
Liv, Jude, Lola and Gemma answer Anne Longfield’s questions

If you have time, we also recommend you listen to this podcast episode where Anne speaks to children involved with Football Beyond Borders – a fantastic organisation who help children who are struggling at school by using their passion for football to engage them and improve their life chances.

Find out more about the work of the Children’s Commissioner:

The Children’s Commissioner of England website
Follow Anne Longfield on Twitter
Follow The Children’s Commissioner on Twitter
Follow The Children’s Commissioner on Facebook
Subscribe to The Children’s Commissioner on YouTube

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Make (Good) Trouble is proud and excited to be part of the Brighton Kickstart scheme put together by Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival (BDBF), working together with Future Creators. It allows us to provide a young person with reliable employment and offer vocational training in media production.

A Make (Good) Trouble photo shoot

We’re one of 20 local organisations offering over 80 work placements in the arts, publishing, PR, digital media and other creative opportunities. Future Creators will facilitate the scheme, working with local businesses and organisations to provide paid work placements for 16- to 24-year-olds claiming Universal Credit.

Every project we undertake is co-created with young people and digital media production is the lens through which they can express their opinions and direct their truths, ensuring an authentic, actionable end-product. During the current economic uncertainty, this scheme is very much needed and helps to fund places for young people who might not otherwise get that opportunity.

We will be supported by Future Creators throughout the placement and will be awarding Badge Nation’s Digital Badges as part of the scheme. We have already awarded 56 Digital Badges to young people involved in our projects over the past year, and they’re a brilliant way to reward our co-creators with a verifiable record of their achievements. 

This is such an important initiative, particularly at a time when youth unemployment is hitting new highs due to Covid.  We look forward to welcoming our newest team member to Make (Good) Trouble. Watch this space!