Joe, 15

Joe was referred to the under 16 programme by his school. Although he was a great lad and had excellent potential he had recently become a changed character after his father died. He could talk about how great his Dad was but couldn’t express his feelings, which lead to him feeling depressed. He reacted through outbursts of rage towards others, he’d been caught smoking cannabis and had admitted experimenting with other drugs regardless of the consequences.

Joe was recently asked by his school to write a couple of paragraphs about Fairbridge - these are some of his words.

“I was put on Fairbridge from school because of my behaviour and lack of self confidence after my dad died. I struggled with depression but after going to Fairbridge I have talked and things have changed. The staff at Fairbridge are really helpful and don’t think of themselves as teachers, they come over as a friend. They listen to you and help you overcome fears that you have, they are really funny and are always up for a laugh.

The things I have enjoyed most are the Gorge walking on my residential. We put on our equipment and slid down waterfalls. In one case there was a waterfall called the washer and I never thought I could do it but the staff gave me the motivation I needed. Rock climbing was really good fun cos I’m scared of heights. It was good to do something I never thought I could. I recently signed up for a ship voyage on a tall ship called the Spirit of Fairbridge. It takes you right around Scotland and back again so there’s something to look forward to.

The things I have got from Fairbridge are self confidence, controlling my temper and learning to talk instead of bottling it all up and really doing things I never ever thought I could do in my life.”

Over the last 10 months at Fairbridge Joe has related well to his ODW and has been able to talk about his bereavement and his feelings and how the strategies he had been using were not totally effective. Joe has been guided through various different ways of coping with his feelings and how he can move forward by finding out his strengths for himself. To finish his programme he will complete a course on the Spirit of Fairbridge to give him a new perspective on how far he has come since his referral.