Open Door Charity: Ongoing impact evaluation of our Bazaar mental health support programme for young people aged 14-35
Bazaar is a free eight-session peer support programme for young people aged 14-35 shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. By blending elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and more, Bazaar gives young people the tools to control and combat negative thought patterns. Feedback that we collect from programme members through ongoing evaluation offers insights into young people's experiences of the Bazaar programme and their preferences for mental health support.
Insights gathered: November 2023 - July 2025
Insights gathered by
Open Door Charity
Aim
Bazaar is an ongoing programme from Open Door Charity. We regularly collect feedback from the members who attend the programme in order to evaluate the impact of the programme.
People engaged with
The Bazaar programme is open to all young people aged 14-35 in Wirral and the surrounding Liverpool City Region. The programme is non-clinical. CBT and mindfulness focused, aimed at young people with mild-moderate levels of anxiety or depression.
Methods
Members are asked at the end of the programme for feedback on their time at Open Door Charity and their experience of the Bazaar programme. Insights are gathered using a structured and systematic approach, collected in-person, through a computerised end-of-programme survey.
Data is collected through the programme website and stored on our CRM, Beacon. Analysis was a mixed-method of both qualitative and quantitative. There were six questions on the survey, two quantitative and four were open-ended questions asking the member about the experience on the programme as well as the impact of having a mentor guiding them through the programme. In analysing the responses, we are able to identify, categorise and interpret the responses to extract meaningful insights and adjust the programme or its delivery, accordingly.
Key insights
Responses were only collected from those who completed the Bazaar programme, however from this we are able to understand why the members successfully completed the programme, and recognise any challenges or barriers the members may have faced in completing the programme.
There were several key themes from the qualitative insights:
When asked “How was the experience of having a mentor for you?”, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. A common sentiment from the feedback is that members would not have been able to finish the program without their mentors’ support, and that the programme is more meaningful than if they were to complete the programme alone:
- “[It’s] better to be able to talk to somebody”
- “A mentor was a good person to talk to about things and work through with to keep on task”
- “It was helpful to have someone to talk my own examples through with and guide me through the sessions.”
The mentors were a familiar and reliable face, and the consistency of having the same mentor throughout the programme was crucial to many of the members in getting the most out of the programme.
- “It helped keep consistency which was good. I felt comfortable and that my experience was improved with having the same person each week as there was consistency in the conversations.”
- “I liked the experience of us doing for the first time start to finish together”
Several of the members found it “really beneficial” and “really nice” to have someone to talk to who is non-judgmental and that they don’t know in their personal life. A number of the members also fed back they found it valuable socialising each week, in-person, and away from their usual social groups.
- “Really beneficial to speak to someone impartial who isn't going to get upset when I tell them things”
- “So kind, caring, she's been so patient with me and I honestly can't say enough good things about her, she is a good listener and lets me just yap which was so nice, it's been like chatting with a friend because she's so personable and wonderful”
Overall, the members fed back that mentors provided a safe, positive space where they felt listened to, which enabled the members to get the most out of the programme.
Quotes
“I have completed CBT once before online via zoom and it was not personal so I found it hard to connect and make changes. Having a mentor has made the CBT experience more personal.”
“The mentor helped me to understand how I felt about what I was experiencing. They helped me rationalise my thoughts and gave helpful tips and tricks to manage stress and anxiety.”
How have the insights been used/shared?
The insights are used internally for monitoring and evaluation of the quality of the programme, to improve member experience.
Contact
Dean Renshaw - Data and Insights Manager, dean@opendoorcharity.com