Purple Elephant was built on a simple belief: everything Frome has to offer should be for everyone.
Frome is a creative, vibrant town. But not everyone feels that it’s for them. Financial pressure, disability, social isolation, these things can make a community feel out of reach. Sue Willis co-founded Purple Elephant because she believed everyone in Frome should feel welcome.
It started with a children’s festival. The festival was built on a simple idea: it would be for everybody. No stalls selling things families couldn’t afford. No barriers at the door. Just a free, co-created day of fun science, arts and crafts, climbing walls, circus skills, music, adventure play and more spread across the town, with an understandable programme and family support workers on hand. Young people helped shape it and everyone was invited.
From that founding instinct, Purple Elephant has grown but it’s still rooted in the same belief. When funding for Frome’s children’s centre stopped Purple Elephant stepped in with play sessions and a toy and play library.
When they saw the need for early intervention they created Small Steps: a programme combining play with family support, covering everything from parenting and budgeting to navigating an EHCP.
When they noticed young people had nowhere to go or chill-out together after school, they opened The Key Club in 2024 (Kind, Enjoyable Youth) and in 2025, Tea and Toasties, a drop-in space where the whole point is to just arrive, exhale, and have some calm time before going home.
Before joining the Somerset Youth Alliance, Purple Elephant was doing all of this largely in isolation. Newer to the youth work sector, they’d been talking to the YMCA and The Pod locally and PromiseWorks as another organisation offering mentoring but hadn’t connected more widely. They were doing brilliant work, but without a network, without visibility of what others were doing, and without the professional infrastructure that comes from being part of something bigger.
The Alliance changed that. Through membership, Purple Elephant connected with organisations they’d never have otherwise met. Online sessions mean Purple Elephant can join without having to travel across the county. And there’s something less tangible but equally important: the sense of being part of a movement that takes young people’s voices seriously, and that shares ideas openly.
Families and young people using Purple Elephant’s services don’t always seem to have much in common but what Sue has noticed is that they all need somewhere that felt safe. Somewhere they wouldn’t be judged. Families describe their sessions as an anchor for the week. Young people have said simply: “I’d cry if it closes.” The fact that a safe space is so needed says everything about why Purple Elephant exists. And why the Alliance’s role in helping organisations stay connected, supported and visible matters so much.
Find out how you can get involved with the Somerset Youth Alliance here.
“We love what we do, while we wish we weren’t needed. It’s nice to have opportunities to share what we do with others, and see what others do.”
Sue Willis, Service Manager
