Our Impact 2023

We believe that with the right support and opportunity all young people can succeed in life. We have worked closely with young people to develop our ‘theory of change’ – this is what young people have told us they need so that they can make positive changes to their lives. Our work is flexible and tailored to each individual but there are four main areas of focus: employability, independent living, health and wellbeing and having fun & engaging with communities.

To demonstrate the impact that our work is having,  we work with young people to help them monitor how they are progressing, recording what they achieve and where they go on leaving Amber. We also work with external organisations to evaluate the longer-term impact of our work. For example, the Ministry of Justice Data Lab found that young people are 48% less likely to re-offend after being at Amber, which is a hugely positive result and has a significant impact on wider society.

A further report by Bean Research found that, “for every £1 invested, Amber generates £12.24 in social value over 3 years through economic benefits, human capital gains, avoided Exchequer costs, as well as health and wellbeing improvements among programme participants.”

The following information shows Amber impact in 2023.

From our 4 centres in Kent, Surrey, Wiltshire and Devon, we have delivered:

amber-training-2

sessions focussing on education, training and employment

amber-icn-skills

opportunities focussed on developing independent living skills

amber-icn-health

sessions for young people to work on their health and wellbeing

amber-icn-support

experiences of engaging with local communities and getting out and having fun

This Has Resulted In:

young people moving on

amber-icn-people
%

successfully

Amber-icn-bracket
%

left Amber to go into work

%

achieved a major goal such as gaining a Level 2 professional qualification

%

left Amber to go back into education/training for work

Who Do We Support?

%

Age 16 – 24 years

%

Age 25 – 30 years

Immediately before joining Amber

%

with a mental health diagnosis

%

with a history of substance/alcohol misuse

%

with no formal qualifications

%

with a previous criminal conviction

%

with a neurodevelopmental disorder such as ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder

Outcomes achieved by young people

%

made a positive change in their aspirations for work

%

of young people reported a positive change in their confidence in finding employment

%*

reported a positive change in their mental health and wellbeing

%**

reported an increase in their confidence and self-esteem

“I can take a minute to really concentrate on myself here without having to worry about anything else. I can pick up my responsibilities slowly and gradually build myself back up again. That’s really something. I don’t know any other situation I’d be able to do that in.”

Young person at Amber

“Amber is somewhere to concentrate on yourself, learn about yourself, and learn life skills again. You can walk out of here with something amazing if you want it, 100%.”

Young person at Amber

“My Team Leader helps me with emotional support, but I can also have a joke with them. I don’t feel like I’m being judged.”

Young person at Amber

* Warwick/Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale
** Rosenberg self-esteem scale

Finance and fundraising 2022/2023

Income £
Income associated with charitable activities 1,355,095
Investments 1,565
Donations and fundraising 1,443,045
Total income 2,799,705
Expenditure £
Expenditure on charitable activities 2,675,355
Fundraising expenditure 221,142
Total operating expenditure 2,896,497
Net Income (96,792)

The change – in terms of pride and self-worth – demonstrated by some of these young people is inspiring and sets them in good stead for the next chapter in their lives, which Amber staff will help secure. Surrey County Council has been fortunate enough to recruit several Amber graduates, who have shown much resilience, compassion and professionalism within the workplace.

Heather Ryder
Senior Public Health Lead, Surrey County Council