Young People supported in 2024
Young People supported this year
Young People supported since 2022
EHMF Volunteer hours 2024
The Elliott Holmes Memorial Fund offers face to face mental health counselling to 13-18-year-olds living in or attending school in Gravesham. Our unique model empowers young people to self-refer, ensuring accessible and timely support through the untapped private counselling sector.
In 2024, 6,000 community members raised funds, enabling us to provide 172 young people with vital counselling services, all without public sector funding. We collaborate with Gravesham secondary schools, Kent Police, Darent Valley Hospital, local leisure centres, charities, and clubs, sharing statistical insights to enhance their support. Additionally, we assist families who have tragically lost a young person to suicide.
We are unique!
There is no comparable service in the UK. With the NHS overwhelmed, accessing free face-to-face counselling anywhere in the UK, is nearly impossible. Tragically, 83% of the young people who self-refer to us have been unable to access support elsewhere.
EHMF was inspired and established by Peter Scutts and Kerry Holmes, who lost their son, Elliott to suicide in 2020 after failing to access the support he needed.
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Counselling feedback
The referral process was very easy, and we were kept up to date all the way through. The counsellors that worked with our students have gone above and beyond to accommodate appointments and times that fit best with our students’ needs.
There have been significant changes in our students, they have learnt some very useful strategies to help them cope. We cannot reiterate enough, how grateful we are for their support.
Thank you Peter and your amazing team.
Your service has been an absolute godsend for my son. We were able to access support very swiftly and smoothly, due to my son, having autism, it was vital, the counsellor understood his needs and how he expresses himself.
The counsellor, has been so calm and collected and allowed my son to verbalise his feelings around, losing his best friend with such ease, I as his parent struggled to get him to rationalise his feelings. She immediately built up a good trusting relationship with him. I was so grateful for this service to become available, it is age-appropriate, local, and accessible.
Thank you for everything you do!
I have suffered with my mental health for many years so seeking help was a really hard thing for me to do as my suffering had become a normality. I was so scared to confide in someone and feared I would be judged. Now having completed my sessions, I feel like a different person. I feel stronger and more optimistic about the future. This has completely changed my life for the better and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.
My dad originally suggested I try counselling and I was a bit scared but after the first couple of sessions I felt relaxed and I began to talk. I can honestly say it has helped me loads and my confidence is higher and my anxiety is less
You are not alone, you may feel it but help is available and once you take that first step you will feel so much better for not bottling it up. Speak to someone, don’t suffer alone.
I feel more able to cope since having counselling. My Counsellor was nice and easy to talk to.
