Stacey, 23

STACEY, 23

“I first heard about Fairbridge through the homeless unit I was in. At that point in my life, I was involved with drugs, alcohol and also known for being aggressive sometimes. I had mental health issues and especially with trusting anything or anyone.

So when Sammy, the ODW came to meet me I wasn’t really sure about it all.

But I eventually gave it a go and I’ve been at Fairbridge for a while now and I feel I’ve developed massively. I’ve done kayaking, canoeing, climbing, surfing and also been involved in fund raising events. I sailed on the Spirit which was hard work, but I also had time to think about me and my future, I suppose, it was such a BUZZ!! I think I took things a stage further and put all the stuff that I learned at Fairbridge and went on an extreme residential at Venture Trust for three weeks in Applecross up in the Scottish Highlands. All this stuff I’ve done is life changing and gives you new skills that you can put in place for the future. I have great team building skills, so much more confident. Although I am still building trust with people I’m getting there but most of all Fairbridge has helped me with my anger issues and that’s what was holding me back. I also now have my own tenancy which I’m so happy about.

Fairbridge is a great experience, it is somewhere to get stuck in and keep you motivated and it’s somewhere to feel supported and safe. It’s nice to come in and chill, speak to your key worker or any member of staff for that matter. Im now looking to my future, and want to go work overseas! I would recommend Fairbridge to any young person- just look what they have done for me”.

David, 13

David was referred to Fairbridge by the CAHMS project in Glasgow, an organisation which works with young people with ADHD. David was 13 when he was first referred. He lives with his Mum, he was attending mainstream school, but, due to his ADHD, he was finding it hard to maintain his focus in classes and teachers were concerned about how this was affecting both the class and his education as a whole. David’s Mum was pro-active in the referral to Fairbridge due to her concerns about the relationships in school.

On referral, David completed an Access course with Fairbridge along with 8 other young males from all over the city. During the Access course, David was motivated, focused and a key member of the team. On completion, David set a long term goal of maintaining his school place and achieve his Standard Grade exams.

David worked closely with his keyworker to identify a series of courses which would build his confidence, allow him to recognise his skills and key strengths and gain skills around focus and direction. Over a period of 12 months, David has completed 550 training hours via courses including: Mountain Expedition, Surfing, Football, Sexual Health, Animation, Video Production and our tall ship, The Spirit of Fairbridge. He has also achieved his Bronze ASDAN Award. David now has the focus to maintain his attention throughout courses, is vocal with thoughts and ideas and confident enough to join any group and be a supportive and motivated group member.

Fairbridge supported David through the transition to a new school where he is now settled and focusing well on his long term goal of achieving his Standard Grade exams.