About Your Direction
We’re on a mission to empower young people to navigate the challenges of parental separation to build confidence, resilience, and hope for their future.
Combatting the teenage
mental health crisis
4 MILLION CHILDREN
in Great Britain are part of families with separated parents.
It is the
Biggest Factor
Affecting teenage mental health
Every child should have access to Targeted support
Sources: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2024, https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12333
We monitor participant wellbeing (with the widely used and respected WEMWBS scores). Most recent results show that after completing the workshops, almost 90% of participants reported normal to high wellbeing, compared to just over half before!
9 out of 10 participants said Your Direction helped them talk to their parents in a more constructive way.
Participants also talk about gaining key life skills, including: recognising feelings, listening, communicating issues in healthier ways, accepting parents for who they are and resolving conflict.
All these skills are vital in building healthy relationships into the future.
Our Story
Your Direction was developed by Restored Lives in partnership with children’s charity Spurgeons.
Our materials have been developed with and by young people to ensure it’s based in real-life experience.
Restored Lives is a charity founded by a group of divorcees from Holy Trinity Brompton, a London church, who are committed to offer practical, non-judgemental support and compassion to anyone going through family separation. Among them were family law judges, solicitors, counsellors, psychologists, communication specialists, mediators, family life experts and many others whose greatest qualification was hard-earned lived experience.
They built evidence-based resources that use proven formats from other successful Holy Trinity Brompton courses including The Marriage Course (written by Nicky & Silla Lee) and the Alpha Course. Your Direction is part of this work. It is fully inclusive for people from all backgrounds and suitable for every young person whose parents separate or are impacted by family conflict and change. It does not contain any religious content.
Alongside legal services company amicable, we created Split Happens – an AI powered online space full of real life stories, expert approved advice, and practical resources – designed with young people who’ve navigated their parents’ split.
This groundbreaking digital hub aims to provide answers to young people’s pressing questions and create a bridge to conversations about the impact of their parents’ separation in the real world.
Our Team
Erik
Erik’s own divorce led him to start the charity Restored Lives, which Your Direction is part of. He is passionate about giving young people the joy and freedom that comes when they discover the skills to rise above family separation and move forward with confidence and hope.
Helen
Helen oversees marketing and operations at Your Direction and Restored Lives. A natural communicator and trained teacher, Helen’s own experience of divorce fuels her mission to reach as many young people as possible with the support and resources they need to thrive.
Shakira
Shakira brings the voice of young people to the heart of what we do. She leads our social media presence, and supports all our marketing activities, helping us connect and grow Your Direction and Restored Lives.
OUR SUPPORTERS
A huge thank you to our supporters, without whom this work would not be possible
