27 Oct 2025
St Albans legal firm Taylor Walton Solicitors and local charity Youth Talk have wrapped up a successful week-long awareness campaign across the city, inspiring 40 local businesses and thousands of residents to come together in support of young people’s mental health.
As part of the initiative, 40 shops and businesses across St Albans displayed Youth Talk T-shirts in their windows along with a QR code to link to find out more about the charity. This visual show of solidarity was designed to help break the stigma surrounding youth mental health and highlight the vital support services available locally.
Youth Talk chief executive David Barker said: “It’s been fantastic to see this campaign come to life and to see shop windows around St Albans proudly showing their support. Huge thanks to Taylor Walton for leading such an inspiring initiative and to every local business for taking part. Together we’re sending a powerful message to young people that their community cares and it’s always okay to talk. And to have the display up whilst the Great St Albans Challenge was taking place was a fantastic way to link all of the activities which would have been seen by thousands of people across the city during the week.”
Donna Nichol, owner of Chloe James said: “We recently chose Youth Talk as the beneficiary of one of our fashion shows and were delighted to take part in the T-shirt campaign. The provision of free and confidential counselling for young people is vital and can literally save lives. We are happy to help in any way we can.”
Emma Bustamante, owner of Cositas said “At Cositas we know how many young people are affected by mental health challenges, and we want them to feel supported and understood. By joining in with Taylor’s Walton’s initiative for Youth Talk, we were helping to show that it’s always OK to open up and ask for help.”
Owner of Vache Bleue Galleries Olesya Bean said: “Mental health affects so many young people, and we want them to know they’re not alone.
“By supporting Youth Talk, we’re helping to spread the message that it’s okay to talk and to ask for help.”
“We have been delighted by the community’s response to this initiative,” said Emily Waddell, head of marketing at Taylor Walton.
“It’s been inspiring to see so many local businesses come together to help raise awareness of the importance of talking about mental health across the city. We hope this has raised awareness for young people and their families and will encourage them to seek advice and support. The campaign has successfully raised the profile of Youth Talk’s work and reinforced an important message: it’s okay to talk.”
For more information about Youth Talk or to access support, visit www.youthtalk.org.uk.
