“You are working with some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and with that there is a huge responsibility” – The Times covers Think Ahead’s expansion

Think Ahead’s Chief Executive, Ella Joseph, and alum Levi Chambers-Cook (pictured) have been featured in The Times as part of a news piece about Think Ahead’s expansion.

We announced earlier this week that the government has awarded us up to £27m to expand the Think Ahead graduate programme. This funding covers at least the next two cohorts, and allows us to provide 160 places per year, a 60% increase in the annual intake.

Levi joined the Think Ahead programme in 2016, as part of our first intake, and now works as a mental health social worker in a community mental health team in Manchester. Levi talked about her role working with people with a range of severe mental health problems. She explained: “You are working with some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and with that there is a huge responsibility . . . Being let into that story and into those journeys is a very unique position to be in so I do take that very, very seriously.”

Ella Joseph, Think Ahead’s Chief Executive, explained more about what drives people to join the programme, which gets over 30 applications for every place. She said: “One thing that our participants and applicants have in common is a deep desire and motivation to address the mental health challenge and support some of society’s most vulnerable people, people dealing with severe and enduring mental health problems.”

She went on to talk about Think Ahead’s efforts to encourage applications from people from a wide range of backgrounds, saying: “We have deliberately tried to expand the pool of talent coming into the sector and we have done that really effectively. There is no prior experience required and on average each of our cohorts represents over 50 universities and a huge mix of backgrounds.”

Read the full article on the Times website

Applications to join the Think Ahead programme in 2021 are now open – read more about the programme and how to apply.