Case Study: How SmartEdge Helped LilyAnne’s Wellbeing Charity Transform Access, Capacity, and Care
LilyAnne’s Wellbeing Charity is a frontline wellbeing organisation supporting vulnerable individuals experiencing mental health challenges, loneliness, suicidal ideation, crisis situations, and complex social needs. Their work is deeply human, relational, and often takes place at the most difficult moments in people’s lives.
Like many community and voluntary organisations, LilyAnne’s was under growing pressure: rising demand, limited staff capacity, long waiting lists, and an overwhelming amount of manual administration pulling practitioners away from direct client care.
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The Challenge: When Demand Outgrew Capacity
When SmartEdge first began working with LilyAnne’s, we conducted a full operational and workflow audit. This audit quickly highlighted several critical challenges:
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Severe staff overload, with practitioners spending large portions of their time on admin rather than people
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Long waiting times, with referrals sometimes taking up to 7 days to receive a response
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Overly long, manual processes that slowed engagement and increased risk
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Lost opportunities for early intervention, particularly outside of standard 9–5 hours
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Heavy reliance on handwritten notes and manual communication, reducing focus during therapeutic sessions
Most importantly, the audit revealed a mismatch between when people needed help and when the organisation was able to respond. People in crisis are rarely 9–5. They reach out late at night, early morning, and during unsociable hours exactly when no one was available to respond.
The organisation’s goal was clear:
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Be more people-focused
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Reduce waiting times
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Reduce time spent on computers
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Provide instant, compassionate engagement
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Protect staff wellbeing and reduce burnout
The SmartEdge Approach: Fix the Foundations First
SmartEdge did not rush to “add tech.”
Instead, we:
Took time to understand the organisation, its values, and its fears
Mapped workflows end-to-end to identify quick, high-impact intervention points
Prioritised safeguarding, ethics, and trust at every stage
Moved at the organisation’s pace — not the technology’s
LilyAnne’s were initially skeptical. They didn’t trust technology and were worried AI would feel impersonal or unsafe. Building trust was as important as building systems.
The Solution: Introducing Lilybot – AI With Safeguards and Heart
The most critical intervention was the creation of Lilybot — a carefully designed AI agent that manages all front-end communication while embedding safeguarding, escalation, and human oversight.
What Lilybot Does:
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Provides 24/7 first contact, outside office hours
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Offers reassurance, information, and clear next steps
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Manages referrals and signposting
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Identifies urgency and flags risk
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Routes people to the right support quickly and safely
During the Christmas period alone — traditionally one of the highest-risk times of year — Lilybot supported over 50 vulnerable individuals experiencing:
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Mental health crises
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Severe loneliness
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Suicidal thoughts
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Missing person concerns
All of this happened out of hours, when no staff were available — with built-in safeguards to escalate risk appropriately.
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The results were transformational
⏱ Time & Cost Savings
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10+ hours saved per week in admin time
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Manual front-of-house and communication tasks removed
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Equivalent of a £25,000 salary freed up
That role was not replaced. Instead, that staff member now:
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Writes funding bids
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Secures new income
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Strengthens long-term sustainability
⚡ Access & Responsiveness
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Waiting time reduced from 7 days to under 1 minute
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Instant engagement instead of delayed replies
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No more people waiting a week for support during crisis
❤️ Better Care, Better Outcomes
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Practitioners now spend more time in human connection, where real healing happens
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Reduced distraction during sessions due to AI note-taking and summaries
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Improved therapeutic focus, reducing relapse risk
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Less pressure on wider social, NHS, and emergency services
Lilybot's Impact
Key Service Delivery Improvements Enabled by AI
SmartEdge AI supported LilyAnne’s to implement improvements across the entire service journey:
Improved Access & First Contact
AI provides 24/7 reassurance, guidance, and signposting, ensuring no one is turned away due to timing or capacity.
AI-Assisted Triage & Needs Assessment
Structured information gathering identifies urgency and flags safeguarding risks early using advanced AI-assisted triage.
Appointment Booking & Reminders
Automated booking, confirmations, and reminders reduce admin and missed appointments.
Personalised Support Pathways
AI helps tailor follow-ups, resources, and engagement based on individual needs and patterns.
Practitioner Support & Burnout Reduction
AI scribe and note-taking tools summarise sessions, highlight risks, and reduce duplication — allowing practitioners to stay fully present.
Safeguarding & Consistency
AI ensures accurate, up-to-date information is shared consistently and prompts safeguarding actions when thresholds are met.
Outcome Tracking & Continuous Improvement
Engagement and outcomes are tracked to identify what works best and improve services over time.
What LilyAnne’s Say About Working With SmartEdge AI
“We were skeptical at first and didn’t trust the technology. SmartEdge took us through the process slowly, at our pace. They built trust first — and that relationship is what transformed everything.”
“They truly understood our challenges. They didn’t just install systems — they saw our struggles and spotted where AI could genuinely help.”
“Even simple things, like recording appointments so we didn’t have to handwrite notes, were game-changing. We were fully focused on the client.”
“This has completely changed the way we work. We’re excited about what’s possible now.”
Why This Matters
This transformation didn’t just improve internal efficiency.
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Improved access for people in crisis
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Strengthened safeguarding
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Reduced staff burnout
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Increased funding capacity
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Reduced pressure on wider support systems
Most importantly, it allowed LilyAnne’s to do more of what they exist to do: help people, at the moment they need it most.
Why Organisations Choose SmartEdge Because we:
Understand people before platforms
Move at your pace Build trust, not dependency
Design AI that feels safe, ethical, and human
Fix foundations before adding complexity
This is what happens when AI is done properly. If your organisation is overwhelmed, stretched, and struggling to meet demand this is what’s possible.