Looking back, my time at primary school wasn’t easy. My teachers always noticed that I was a caring person, who put other people before myself, but I still struggled to make friends. I found it hard to talk to people. In hindsight, I can now see that I have some traits of autism and ADHD, which probably played a part in this.

I never felt that my primary teachers fully understood me. I have dyspraxia and I sometimes felt I was reprimanded for things that weren’t in my control. With all of this going on for me, as well as trying to support a family member through addiction, my mental health and wellbeing suffered a great deal. I stayed at home more and more and hardly ever went out.

I was just 11 years old when my cousin committed suicide, and it was me who found her. She was a very important part of my life and losing her spiralled my mental health. It was at this time that I was referred to COVEY through my school.

I started going along to the weekly Boys’ Group, where the games and meeting new people gave me an escape and distracted me from everything that was going on at school and in my home life. I remember feeling a bit more free after each session, like a weight was lifting from me every time.

All the support I’d received from COVEY growing up made me realise how much I wanted to give back. So, I left school and went to college for 3 and a half years, to pursue a career in care and helping others. While at college, I studied:

-  Introduction to counselling

-  Level 6 in Health and Social Care

-  HNC Social Services

Although by this point, I’d left my COVEY group. I felt like my journey wasn’t over. It had been such a big part of my life. The people that supported me noticed that I had qualities that would make a good COVEY volunteer and I decided that would be the best way to give something back.

I spent over 2 years volunteering in COVEY’s kinship groups. I loved those groups. It was so amazing to see the young people bond and support each other. Watching them enjoy the groups brought back great memories of he group I was in growing up, and it felt great to be part of bringing them the experiences that I  had once had.

Everything I learned at both college and within my volunteering at COVEY led to me starting a job with Enable, where I began supporting people with additional needs in the community before moving on to work within the colleges.

I’ve been told that I have a lot of mental strength and resilience, and I often say that’s down to the support that I’ve received. If it wasn’t for the support I received through COVEY, I simply wouldn’t be standing here today.

They gave me the social skills I needed to make friends. They gave me the self-belief to be confident, helping me realise my value and gave me the courage to go out and get my qualifications and my job. I advocate for myself now because they showed me that what I think and feel is important and matters.