Jo Dare has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

Sahe has gone from one end of the charities age spectrum, having previously been CEO of Age UK (Isle of Wight).

Jo replaces Clare Cannock, who stepped down earlier this year to spend more time with her family.

Clare had been in post for around 18 months, having taken over from Mairead Healy.

Read more: Former Children in Need head is new Youth Trust boss.

The Isle of Wight Youth Trust supports young people aged 4-25 with free, confidential and professional mental health support; including counselling, wellbeing services, family counselling and group programmes.

Jo, who joins the charity with over 15 years’ experience as CEO of Isle of Wight charities, said she was looking forward to working with the youth trust to improve mental health outcomes for young Islanders.

“Mental health has always been a passion of mine and I am excited to be working alongside the exceptionally talented team of counsellors, practitioners, staff, volunteers and young people at the trust, to support outcomes for our young people.”

“The past year has been challenging across the sector and at the trust, we are seeing a rapid rise in young people reaching out for support, with over 100 referrals coming in every month since March.

"My immediate focus as CEO is to ensure the youth trust is able to meet this demand and that young people are able to access the help they need, when they need it most.”

“I was drawn to the trust by the commitment to placing young people at the heart of all they do. I look forward to ensuring the trust continues to be led by the young people we serve, and that their voices are informing the work we deliver.”

Trust chairman, Malcolm Marshall, said the trust was excited to welcome Jo to the post.

“Jo brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience of leading within the Island charity sector and will be a brilliant asset to the trust.”

“The past five years have seen the trust rapidly transform our services.

"We are excited to have Jo at the helm as we embed these changes and navigate the challenges of emerging from the global pandemic.”