About Us

The Next Wave is Bermuda's youth mental health website — created with young people, for young people.

We bring together trusted information, helpful tools, and local resources all in one place — so you can learn more about mental health.

Though we don’t offer services or therapy ourselves, we're here to help you on your journey towards better mental health — whether you’re looking to understand what you’re feeling or figure out where to turn next.

Our Mission

To give young people in Bermuda a clear, trusted starting point for learning about mental health, all in one place, and written with you in mind.

We don't offer services ourselves, but we help you find the people and places that do.

Our Vision

A Bermuda where every young person knows where to turn when life feels hard — and where mental health information is easy to find, understand and act on.

We imagine a future where there's no shame and no stigma around mental health — where asking for help is seen as strong, not weak and where every young person feels safe to speak up and be themselves.

We want to make it easier for you to get answers, explore options and take the next step — whatever that looks like for you.

Our Values

• Youth-driven: This website was created with young people, for young people. Our experiences, concerns, and needs shape everything we do.
• Diversity and Inclusion: No matter your background, identity, or story, Next Wave is a space where you can feel welcome, heard, and respected.
• Collaboration: We’re stronger together. We work with community partners, mental health organizations, and youth like you to share trusted information and real options for support.
• Privacy and Respect: Everyone’s mental health journey is personal. We're committed to protecting your privacy.
• Empowerment: We believe in your ability to make informed choices. Whatever your next step might be, we try to give you the tools and knowledge to help you take it.

Our Story

Next Wave started with a big question: What do young people in Bermuda really need to feel supported, safe and seen?

That question came from Teen Services, a local organisation that's been supporting youth for over 50 years. They had a vision: to design a digital resource specifically for youth. But they didn't want to build it based on guesses of what young people needed - they wanted to hear it directly from the young people themselves. So, they ran focus groups with teens and reached out to the Chief Researcher at Bermuda College, who had conducted Bermuda's first National Adolescent Mental Health Survey.

They learned that young people felt they needed three things to feel supported, safe, and seen:

1. Clear, non-jargony information,
2. Confidential support, and
3. A space that feels made for them, not just about them.

That's when the idea for The Next Wave really started to grow.

But building something this big — especially a helpline — isn't something one group could do alone. That's where the Coalition for the Protection of Children (CPC) came in: They teamed up with Teen Services to create a new kind of support system: one that would be collaborative and youth-led.

They were later joined by Bermuda College, who helped them with research, funding, and coordination. As the academic partner in the Youth Mental Health Plan, Bermuda College helped make sure that the system would be based on evidence and proven practices and would be shaped by the voices of young people, every step of the way..