ABOUT THE CATEGORY: Young Mental Health Champion acknowledges young people who have made outstanding contributions to areas including mental health awareness, support, and education. It is awarded to individuals or group who have made a meaningful impact in reducing mental health stigma, improving access to mental health resources, and creating supportive safe spaces to talk about feelings and emotional health.
Find out more about our 2026 winners below.
Winner: Charlotte Williams
Charlotte is an exceptional young person whose courage, empathy and determination have driven meaningful change in mental health awareness and service improvement. After spending much of her teens in children's mental health hospitals and facing the added challenge of being autistic in a world that often misunderstands autism, she has turned her lived experience into powerful advocacy.
Just a year after leaving hospital, Charlotte delivered a workshop at the national conference sharing her story with honesty and clarity. Her words deeply moved professionals, inspiring more compassionate approaches.
Charlotte is a committed member of the Youth Involvement Bank at CNTW, contributing to improvements in children and young people's services. Her insight was pivotal in the project to remove seclusion rooms from wards, offering thoughtful alternatives and helping embed young people's voices in service design. Her empathy, resilience and quiet strength shine in everything she does. She listens deeply, speaks with purpose and challenges respectfully. Charlotte is not only a champion for mental health - she is a role model for resilience, compassion and hope.
Highly commended: Cerys Rose Kirsop
Cerys is an incredible pupil at a specialist school for autistic children, whose enthusiasm, leadership and compassion have had a real impact on the whole community.
Cerys is part of her school's Wellbeing Warriors, contributing to the creation of a "5 Ways to Wellbeing" campaign. She led the very first Wellbeing Warriors assembly, confidently engaging pupils and staff and encouraging everyone to reflect on their own mental health and how to support healthier minds.
Each week, Cerys designed thoughtful wellbeing challenges such as tidying a classroom space or creating a positive poster about a classmate. This idea came directly from her belief in kindness and the power of encouraging others. She wants every pupil to feel seen, valued and uplifted.
Cerys also involved staff, introducing a connecting activity where they anonymously shared positive messages with colleagues they didn't often speak to. She coordinated her group brilliantly, helping the other girls design invites, certificates and badges for the assembly, and awarding weekly certificates to staff nominated for embracing the wellbeing challenges.
This award is sponsored by The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB)
This award is sponsored by The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board. The ICB has responsibility for commissioning healthcare services in the area. Their vision is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Sunderland.
