Community Spotlight: JAGS Supporting the Elliott Holmes Memorial Fund
At JAGS Property Group, supporting our local community is incredibly important to us. That’s why we’re proud to be supporting the Elliott Holmes Memorial Fund (EHMF), a Gravesham-based organisation providing vital mental health support to young people across our borough.
Making a Difference to Young People in Gravesham
EHMF helps young people access professional counselling quickly and without unnecessary barriers. To date, the organisation has supported more than 704 young people and currently works with 15 registered counsellors, with more being added as demand for the service continues to grow.
One statistic really stood out to us: 23% of the young people supported by EHMF last year were not previously known to their schools as needing mental health support. That’s almost one in four.
It’s a powerful reminder that a young person can appear to be doing well at school, at home or with friends while struggling privately, and why having somewhere else to turn is so important.
It also highlights the important role that local schools play. Teachers, pastoral teams and safeguarding staff are often among the first people to notice when something isn’t quite right, and EHMF works alongside schools across Gravesham to make sure young people and their families know that additional support is available.
For schools, having a local organisation they can signpost young people towards provides another valuable route to professional help. And for those young people who may not feel able to talk about what they are going through at school, EHMF offers another way to reach out and be heard.
Local Support With Real Impact
EHMF is very much a case of Gravesham supporting Gravesham. The organisation is volunteer-led and works closely with local schools, counsellors, sports clubs, businesses and community organisations.
Behind the statistics is a small, dedicated team of local people who have worked incredibly hard to turn a deeply personal story into something that is now helping hundreds of young people.
EHMF was established following the loss of 19-year-old Elliott Holmes to suicide in 2020. Elliott’s mum, Kerry Holmes, and her husband, Peter Scutts, were instrumental in establishing the organisation and building a service that could help other young people access support sooner.
Today, that work is carried forward by a team of directors and volunteers who bring different skills and experience to EHMF. From managing referrals and connecting young people with counsellors to fundraising, building relationships with local businesses and schools, organising community events and raising awareness, there is a huge amount of work taking place behind the scenes.
Importantly, EHMF also works with a growing network of registered counsellors. This allows young people to be matched with professional support quickly rather than facing lengthy waits at a time when they may already be struggling.
The results show the difference that this approach can make.
In 2025 alone, 203 young people received support, with an average wait of just six days from referral to being connected with a counsellor. Of those supported, 80 made reliable improvements or achieved clinical recovery, while 33 avoided crisis intervention.
The need continues. During the first eight months of 2026, EHMF supported another 175 young people.
Schools at the Heart of the Community
Schools do an enormous amount to support pupils’ wellbeing, but the challenges facing young people do not begin and end at the school gates. By working alongside schools and providing access to independent professional counselling, EHMF can complement the support already being provided by teachers, pastoral teams and safeguarding staff.
That relationship works both ways. Schools can help young people and families discover that EHMF exists, while EHMF provides another avenue of support when counselling is needed.
The fact that almost one in four young people supported by EHMF last year had not previously been identified by their school as needing mental health support also demonstrates why having different routes to help matters so much.
Not every young person will show obvious signs that they are struggling. Some may continue attending lessons, seeing friends and taking part in everyday school life while dealing with difficulties privately.
Creating a community in which schools, families, counsellors and organisations such as EHMF are connected means there are more opportunities for a young person to find the right person to talk to.
Why JAGS Is Supporting EHMF
We’re proud to be doing our bit to help EHMF continue this work. As a local business, we see first-hand how important strong communities are, and supporting an organisation making such a tangible difference to young people locally was something we wanted to get behind.
Fundraising is important. £55 can fund a counselling session for a young person, but this partnership is also about awareness.
If sharing EHMF’s work helps just one young person or family discover where they can turn for support, that matters too.
It also means supporting the network around those young people – the families, schools, counsellors, volunteers and community organisations that are working together to make sure help is there when it is needed.
The Community Behind EHMF
One of the things we particularly admire about EHMF is just how rooted it is in the local community.
The organisation relies on the support of local businesses, clubs, schools, organisations and individuals to help fund its services and make sure young people across Gravesham know that support is available.
There are the counsellors providing professional support, the team coordinating referrals and running the organisation, schools helping to raise awareness, businesses providing funding and sponsorship, and volunteers giving their time to events and fundraising.
Together, they have created a network of support around young people in Gravesham.
And you don’t necessarily have to organise a huge fundraising event to be part of it.
Sometimes helping can be as simple as following EHMF, sharing a post or telling someone about the service. Every donation, share and conversation can help the organisation reach another young person or family who may need it.
For JAGS, that community aspect is a big part of why we wanted to support EHMF. It is a local organisation, built by local people and supported by the local community, making a difference to young people who live and go to school right here in Gravesham.
We’re incredibly proud to support EHMF, the team behind it, and the schools, counsellors, volunteers and organisations working alongside them to help young people and families across our community.