2BU: what happens when someone believes in you

Lisa Snowdon-Carr started as a volunteer. She’s now the CEO of 2BU.“Be careful what you wish for,” she says. But there’s something important in that journey. It’s the same journey the young people are on. Finding your footing. Growing into yourself. Figuring out what you’re capable of when someone believes in you.

2BU is a youth support service for LGBTQ+ young people aged 11 to 25, working across Somerset. They have in-person groups in Taunton and Yeovil, and an outreach service that goes wherever a young person is most comfortable. It could be their school, college, youth club or local coffee shop. Rather than expecting young people to come to them, 2BU takes support into communities across Somerset.

That flexibility is a statement of intent. Many services ask young people to fit around existing systems and locations. 2BU starts from somewhere different: what do you need, and where do you need it? Young people have autonomy over where and how they engage. What they find when they arrive or when 2BU meets them in their chosen space, a youth support service in practice: a safe, welcoming opportunity to connect and talk. There may be games of Uno, shared cake, and additional informal conversation, but the focus is on something deeper: being with others who understand and being supported by trusted peers and adults.

Lisa often speaks with parents who are unsure about whether their child should attend. In those conversations, she focuses on what 2BU is really about: belonging, validation and trusted peers and adults. At its core, she explains, it’s about young people having access to supportive peers and reliable adults, rather than potentially turning to unverified or misleading information on social media.

Those three pillars, belonging, validation and trusted adults, come from research Lisa has drawn on around mental health and LGBTQ+ young people. She has also noticed that discussions can too easily frame LGBTQ+ young people as struggling because of their identity, rather than recognising they face many of the same pressures as their peers. Like all young people, what they need is somewhere to belong: people who understand them, and adults they can trust.

Growing pains

A few years ago, 2BU made the move from CIC to charity. It was a steep learning curve. Governance, finance, compliance, strategy. Lisa has 18 years of experience working with young people. Running a charity was something else entirely. “I’m homegrown,” she says. “I don’t have a formal background in charity management. I come to the table knowing I have things to learn.”

Recently, Spark Somerset’s Friday email arrived in her inbox, inviting 2BU to participate in a funding-focused review. It came at exactly the right moment. The organisation was in transition, and through Spark and the Somerset Youth Alliance Lisa was able to access training and conversations that focused on governance, funding and sustainability. The review gave her space to take a clear and honest look at 2BU’s funding picture, where income was strong, where there were gaps, and what needed to change to strengthen long-term sustainability. She came away with greater clarity and confidence, along with practical steps to take forward.

Beyond the immediate learning, it also opened up a wider shift in how 2BU worked. Being part of the Somerset Youth Alliance has connected Lisa and her team into regular sector conversations, where they are encouraged to contribute, share learning and help shape thinking across the youth sector. For Lisa, that balance of learning from others and contributing in return has been just as valuable as the funding-focused work itself.

Team growth

The whole team has access to training through the Somerset Youth Alliance and Spark. One 2BU team member recently gave a speech at the Youth Work training celebration event, reflecting on what youth work meant to him. He’s now hosting the next Somerset Youth Alliance Action Day. Lisa said “I am proud of the 2BU team and their commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ young people across Somerset. Watching them grow in confidence and share their passion for their work is genuinely inspiring, for me and for those around them”.

That ripple effect extends outward too. Lisa met Nick Harvey from In the Mix at a Youth Action Day, where they spoke over lunch. Nick was already a member of the Somerset Youth Alliance, but the conversation helped him deepen his involvement. Since then, he has grown in presence and confidence. “I often talk about the wealth of knowledge and skills that come out of the SYA” says Lisa. “It’s something that has really opened up opportunities for connection, learning and collaboration across the youth sector.”

How 2BU works across Somerset

2BU’s aim is not to run groups everywhere, but to help create inclusive, welcoming spaces across Somerset, working with the sector rather than instead of it.

“We don’t want to run our own groups across all of Somerset,” Lisa says. “We want to work with organisations across all of Somerset. Being in the community is vital. Our role is visibility and providing support for LGBTQ+ young people to reach a place of healthy self-acceptance. Our hope is to inspire active allyship countywide, so that young people feel ‘it’s OK 2BU’ wherever they go.”

For Lisa, this work is rooted in her own experience. “I recognise that my younger self would have truly benefited from a service like 2BU, and that inspires me every day to provide the best possible support for the young people we work with.”

For young people, this means the spaces they enter are safer, more consistent, and easier to navigate. Whether they are at a 2BU group or in a partner setting, they are more likely to meet adults who understand, who respond well, and who help create environments where they can be themselves without having to explain or justify who they are.

At its heart, 2BU’s work is about what changes for young people. It is about creating spaces where LGBTQ+ young people across Somerset feel safe, understood and less alone, and where they can build confidence in who they are. For many, it is the first time they experience a sense of belonging without question or explanation.