24/10/2026
Last night, we had the absolute honour of attending the annual Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards, where our Founding Director and CEO, Jordan Dighton, was recognised as the WINNER of Youth Project of the Year 💛
This award means more than words can express. It represents the young people who have trusted us, the families who have reached out for support, the volunteers who give their time and the partners who believe that every young person deserves somewhere to turn!
NexYouth was founded from a simple but powerful belief that no young person should have to struggle alone or fight to be heard when they need help. Having experienced first-hand what it feels like when your mental health needs go unmet, Jordan turned those experiences into a determination to create the support system he wishes he had growing up 💪🏼
Since launching NexYouth in June 2024, that determination has grown into an award-winning, youth-led mental health organisation supporting children and young people aged 11–25 across Sheppey, Swale and the wider Kent community!
💛 Here’s just a little of what we’ve achieved together over the past 2 years:
✨ Supported more than 300 children and young people.
✨ Delivered over 100 Hope Boxes to young people who needed a reminder that somebody cares.
✨ Established our Time2Talk service, providing free, accessible early support, advice, advocacy, mentoring and therapeutic support.
✨ Supported more than 40 children and young people through Time2Talk in 2026 alone, with every beneficiary offered an initial appointment within 10 working days.
✨ Contributed more than 2,500 volunteer hours to making a difference in young people’s lives.
✨ Brought communities together through campaigns, youth voice, partnerships and events, including the Baton of Hope on Sheppey.
And behind every statistic is a real person, a real story and a young person who deserves to be seen, heard and supported!
The Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards recognised Jordan’s “lived experience, compassion and determination to support young people who have struggled to find help through mainstream pathways”, including arranging an intensive package of support for a young person in crisis 🙏
The judges also highlighted his support for a bereaved family following the loss of their 13-year-old daughter, Ella James, helping with plans for events in her memory and keeping her name alive!
These are the moments that remind us why NexYouth exists. Our work is about far more than delivering services. It is about showing up when things are difficult, challenging systems that don’t always work for young people and making sure nobody feels they have nowhere to turn 🫶🏽
This award belongs to every young person who has walked through our doors, every parent and carer who has placed their trust in us, every volunteer who has given their time, every partner who has stood beside us and every person who has helped turn an idea into something real!
And, of course, to our incredible NexYouth team. This simply would not be possible without you 💛
Jordan, this recognition is a reminder of what can happen when lived experience becomes action, compassion becomes commitment and a community comes together to create change!
We are incredibly proud. We are incredibly grateful and we are only just getting started 👊🏼
Thank you to the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards team for this special recognition and congratulations to all the other winners and nominees doing such important work across our county!
Here’s to continuing to shape tomorrow’s minds today 🌱
