We do this work because human development happens in stages, and each stage shapes what becomes possible. 

From birth to around age seven, values and a sense of safety are being absorbed and formed. From roughly seven to fourteen, beliefs about life begin taking shape — what the world is like, what relationships are like, what is possible, and what is not.  Then, from around fourteen to twenty-one, the teen years become the natural identity window: “Who am I?” “Where do I belong?” “Who are my friends?” “What do I stand for?” If young people are supported well through this stage, they build capacity that changes everything that comes after. In the early adult years, around twenty-one to twenty-eight, the questions often shift into “When and where?” — where do I fit, where do I want to live, where do I belong, when do I take the next step? Then, across roughly twenty-eight to thirty-five, life tends to refine into “How?” — how do I build what I want, sustain it, and live it with steadiness. Supporting identity early helps the later stages unfold with far more clarity, confidence, and self-trust.

We also do this now because the world has changed, and the pressure on young people has intensified. Many are navigating self-discovery  in a culture of constant comparison, digital distraction, and social fragmentation — separation from self, separation from others, separation from what is meaningful. At the same time, they are carrying very real concerns about the future.  At the same time, they are carrying very real concerns about the future: cost of living and housing, finding work that fits them, the pace of technology and constant online exposure, climate and environmental uncertainty, social and political tension, and the fear of getting life “wrong” or falling behind before they have even had the space to work out who they are. Conventional education works for some, yet it does not work for all neurodivergent and neurotypical learners. Many young people make it through twelve to thirteen years of schooling and still feel unclear about who they are, who is there to support them, what they are passionate about, and what direction is truly right for them. That uncertainty can leave them feeling lost, disconnected, and vulnerable to mental health challenges.

Between us as Changemaker Support Providers we have just over ten decades of working alongside people across community settings, private practice, and government and corporate workplaces, we have seen what happens when adults, especially over thirty-five, were not resourced early with the space, language, and steady guidance to understand themselves. It can show up as chronic stress, anxiety, shutdown, anger, avoidance, perfectionism, low confidence, relationship breakdowns, disconnection from purpose, eating disorders, and ongoing financial stress. Not as a flaw, as a sign that the right support was missing at the right time. This is what Changemaker Support addresses. It is support for connection, rather than separation — connection to a young person’s authentic self, connection to healthy family and friends, and connection to the world around them in a grounded, practical way.

This is why we exist: to change the trajectory early, while identity is forming and the world is louder, faster, and more complex for young people to navigate, so unnecessary stress and struggle do not become someone’s normal — and so families can become the place where a new normal is practised and passed on, breaking generational unhealthy patterns and reducing wider community struggle, one home at a time, towards more ease, joy, and love, even when growth looks disruptive at first glance.

We are not aiming for a life without challenge or dis-ease. Growth includes discomfort, and resilience is built through real experiences. Changemaker ideas can be born in these moments. The difference is that a young person who knows themselves has tools. They can process what happens, learn from it, express what they need, repair when things go “so-called” wrong, and keep moving forward with integrity, confidence, more clarity, and self-trust — and that changes the future. It’s being future-ready, in the now.