Tom, 22

I did my first Access Course last year when I was living in a hostel, life was a bit **** to be honest! At the time life was hectic, I had problems with my family and everything went wrong. I tried loads of new stuff on the course, had a good time and got my head sorted. I had a lot of stuff to sort out and didn't do anything else with Fairbridge.

Slowly me and my Dad made up. My life is very different now, I am living with my Dad and we are very close.

Me and my friend were both doing nothing and really bored. I found a card thing from Fairbridge. It sparked off good memories of my Access Course. I remembered how good I felt achieving stuff. I spoke to my mate and told him what I had done, about the challenges and mad outdoor activities. I remembered that we were helped to push ourselves past our limits and try new things. I persuaded him to try it.

I called Fairbridge and booked an appointment with the Outreach Worker for my friend to ask about doing the course. Because my life had changed and I wasn't doing anything I was asked if I wanted to do the course again with my mate. We spoke about what I wanted to do in the future, I didn't know. We spoke about what we could both do with Fairbridge.

My friend is a bit shy, well quieter than me! We started the course, I had done it before so I was asked not to spoil things because some of the tasks were probably going to be the same as before. I joined in with the problem solving but didn't give the game away with the ones I already knew. We all got on well, everyone had a good time, I pushed myself hard and did well with the outdoor activities, and I did better than last time.

I then wondered what it would be like to be an outdoor instructor. What do you do? How do you learn how to do it? I asked the staff, they told me all sorts of things outdoor instructors can do. I asked if I could learn how to become one and what steps I could take.

After my Access Course I did other courses and activities. I have been on the Spirit of Fairbridge all the way in Scotland. It was brilliant, I was sea-sick but enjoyed it. I was good at the reviewing. I learned more about thinking ahead and about how hard it is to control my temper when feeling so sick! I survived. I have done Climbing, Gorge-Walking, Canoeing, Art, Music, Diversity, Cooking for lots of people, I have joined the Climbing Club and I am doing a course with horses soon!

I have even kind-of started to “help” the staff. I have started to learn about mentoring. Basically I do what I did on my second Access Course, I help shy people without giving the answers and I also help to build confidence by encouraging other young people with outdoor activities. I was asked recently to go on an Access Course to help to mentor some young people that were a bit worried about outdoor activities, we also climbed up Mount Tryvin in Wales.

I am looking into qualifications and experience to do with outdoor activities, I need to get as much practice as I can.

I am glad that I re-took the challenge of the Access Course. Staff are there to help me get what I want to do in life. I am keeping busy and off the streets. I used to drink quite a bit sometimes but now I am doing better things in my life. I am getting to know new people and doing new things I am looking forward to new challenges rather than avoiding things!

The Staff at Fairbridge are amazing! They help me do things at my pace, I get to my limit and they get me to push myself past it. I am learning about safety in the outdoors and the rules that are there to keep you safe. All the staff know how to have a laugh, and accept me for who I am. I ask for help and get it, but they help me sort out problems not doing it for me so I am learning a lot about myself and everything around me.

Doors are open to me that I didn't even know were there! I know about how important it is to keep my cool. I'm learning to think “is this going to help or make things worse?” before I react.

I want to be a mentor then be a volunteer at Fairbridge when I am ready.

Lee, 22

My life was a mess when I came to Fairbridge. My girlfriend had just lost our son in a miscarriage and I was drinking pretty heavily, lashing out at people. My hand was bandaged after I got cut in a fight… I was living in a hostel but the manager was threatening to throw me out for bad behaviour.

Fairbridge was a lifeline – my hostel key worker suggested that I go to get my anger problem sorted out. I didn’t expect much to be honest, was in a real downer and finding it really difficult to get my act together.

I just got stuck in – filling my time with Fairbridge. It kept me away from the bad stuff. My Access course was in North Wales where we did a night hike, rock climbing, gorge walking and caving. I had a great time.

I then got the chance to work on a short film for the Fairbridge Film and Animation Awards. It was a gritty film about guns and gangs in Birmingham. We shot in Lozells, the place that I grew up.

IMAX was my big Fairbridge break… you could say it changed my life. I got up and made a speech about how we had made the film. Someone from the Media Trust was in the audience and they put me forward for a new youth mentoring project. This would involve travelling to Germany for the G8 summit with Philip Webster, Political Editor, of The Times, as a trainee reporter - a journey that would be filmed and shown on the Community Channel. I got the job...

Germany was brilliant. I was really nervous at first and thought Phil would be a boring old fart. But he was great – a friend as well as a mentor. I got to hang out with real journalists, interviewed Jon Snow and a peace protester and even got into a press conference with Tony Blair and George Bush. It really was the chance of a lifetime.

I’ve come a long way over the last 12 months - from the backstreets of Birmingham, to London and then Germany. And I’ve been lucky… not everyone gets the kind of break that I did – I know that. I recently did two weeks work experience at a London paper and am looking into taking a journalism course. I also know that I can do it – it being anything that I want to do. I now believe in myself again.