Wellbeing While Waiting: Our Young Advisor experience

The Wellbeing While Waiting (WWW) project is a national partnership led by UCL’s Social Biobehavioural Research Group and funded by the Prudence Trust. Young people across England are facing long waits for NHS mental health support, and the WWW project explored how social prescribing can make a meaningful difference during that time.

Supported by StreetGames, ten Young Advisors played a vital role in shaping the project: sharing lived experience and insight to guide the research, and co-designing youth‑friendly tools and creative assets including a “Do’s and Don’ts” guide for meaningful youth engagement.

Here, Young Advisors Dani and Maaya-Gabrielle share their experiences of the project.

Dani

As a young adult, we’re faced with choices and decisions. Unfortunately no one gives you a guide book on how to make them and face the responsibility of those. At college, your decisions are made for you, with the main choice of what’s next? I was fortunate that I had people around me to support the decisions I was making, however no one told me that leaving home and going to uni would be so scary. I’d struggled with anxiety before, having the odd panic attack through college. This then became all-consuming in my first year of uni, evolving into a scary depression that circled around me for the whole time I did my BSc in Sport, Physical Activity and Health.

I left uni during Covid, searching for a job. I was lucky to gain employment within the NHS. This influenced my decision to aim for an MSc in Physiotherapy.

Arriving in Bournemouth, four hours from home and unsure of what I was doing with myself. In between the questions there was a slight bit of doom scrolling. One regular doomscroll through Twitter, a retweet from a former lecturer caught my eye. An appeal for volunteers to participate in a youth advisory group on mental health, with the application involving a video and some questions.

After the embarrassing experience of filming myself came an email a few weeks later saying I’d got in. I still wasn’t entirely sure what I’d signed up for, but a reassuring phone call later and I was ready to go.

From the first video call I knew I’d made the right decision, the group were lovely and Lucie broke the ice very quickly. First of all there was the small tasks of reading things and seeing if they were young people friendly. Having the experience of conducting my own research and participating in focus groups previously it felt weird to see the in-between bits.

Then came the adventures: first off to London which I’ve now had the privilege of going three times with StreetGames. All totally different experiences, but getting to meet the researchers and asking questions helped to understand the why.

A trip to Bristol, to see it all come together. The research we’d help shape presented to people from all over the country and different organisations.

Cullumpton, to ask the young people their opinions.

Then finally Goole, a place that I’d never heard of before setting off on a windy long train journey. Who knew the UK expanded so far past Cornwall.

Being a part of Choices allowed me to share my experience as a young adult who’d experienced struggles with my mental health. It took the isolation away from facing everything alone, and knowing that this could help others like me. Participation in data collection helped take the fear out of qualitative research. Having always found language more challenging than numbers this surprised me. But it actually helped me succeed in masters level research.

Memorable moments include running round London trying to fit in as many landmarks as possible within a couple of hours, getting a little bit lost with Lucie driving on the motorway around the North, and a stormy Bristol meeting getting to see the original work come together.

I’d say being part of the Youth Advisory group helped to improve my confidence speaking to bigger groups of people and understanding the role research plays in stakeholder engagement. If you get offered the chance, I’d say go for it especially with the support StreetGames gave me. Lucie was always a text away if I had questions and that helped keep me going.

Maaya-Gabrielle

Four years ago, I heard about the opportunity to join the Youth Advisory Group (YAG). After looking into the research focus—supporting the management of mental health in young people—I knew straight away it was something I wanted to be part of. Mental health is such a significant part of young people’s lives, and I felt strongly that it deserved more attention, more research, and more action. I hoped I could play even a small role in helping to make that difference.

From the very beginning, my experience with YAG was incredibly positive. The staff team were supportive, welcoming, and genuinely passionate about creating change. The other young people involved were just as enthusiastic—everyone wanted to contribute and have their voices heard. It was inspiring to be in an environment where people truly cared about the impact of the work we were doing.

One of the most unexpected benefits of being part of YAG was how much it helped me grow personally. The role gave me opportunities to travel to cities like London, Bristol, and Wakefield. As someone who once found public transport daunting, travelling alone felt like a huge step outside of my comfort zone. But with each trip, I grew more confident. Now, as someone who travels regularly for my degree, I’m so grateful for those early experiences—they helped me build independence in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

One of my favourite memories from the entire experience was our first face-to-face meeting in London. It was my first time travelling alone, which made it even more memorable. Meeting everyone in person after only seeing them on screen brought a new energy to the group. Almost everyone attended, along with StreetGames and the researchers, and for the first time, it truly felt like we were part of something bigger. Seeing how our contributions were shaping real work and real outcomes made everything feel tangible—we weren’t just giving opinions, we were helping to create change.

My enthusiasm for the project and my willingness to get involved wherever I could eventually led to employment with StreetGames. It was an amazing moment to realise that my passion and commitment had been recognised. Being able to take on more responsibility—supporting presentations, helping other young people with tasks, and contributing more directly to the project—was both exciting and challenging. Public speaking initially felt nerve-wracking, and stepping into a more visible role pushed me out of my comfort zone. But the more I did it, the more my confidence grew, and I found myself genuinely enjoying it.

If I could offer one piece of advice to other young people considering youth voice or advisory roles, it would simply be: go for it. Especially if it’s in an area you’re passionate about. No matter your starting point or your role within the group, your voice matters. You will grow in ways you don’t expect, gain skills you didn’t realise you were building, and most importantly, you’ll be contributing to something that genuinely makes a difference.

Find out more about the WWW project