Paige's Story

I originally got in contact with Step Up because my mental health was bad and I needed help. A woman from Step Up came to my house to see me, and I explained the kinds of things I struggle with, such as socialising and engaging with new people due to my social anxiety. That’s when she mentioned the Ground Works programme at The Youth Association. At first, I was hesitant, but I needed to face my challenges and wanted to make new friends that I could relate to and help me get ready for work.

At the start of the programme, I was so nervous to come into the building by myself that my grandma had to walk me in and sit with me to settle me in. I was so nervous to speak to anyone; I remember I would mumble a few words sometimes, but most of the time I would just sit there shaking like a leaf with my head down. The people in Ground Works were very kind and helpful and made me feel very welcome. After that first session, I felt I could speak out more and enjoy it. I loved doing the podcast and going to the escape room as it helped me with socialising and being able to speak about my thoughts and feelings, then hearing how other people related to that.

I was referred to Future SELPH by Ground Works because after finishing their programme, I realised I needed more help with my anxiety and wasn’t ready to work or look for jobs at the time. I heard Future SELPH was more focused on helping mental health.

The programme was amazing as I found a lifetime friend from it who could relate to me, and I loved getting to play games and do activities that would also help with learning to manage my feelings and emotions. I found myself speaking out more in the sessions and feeling more confident within myself.

Thinking about what I felt like walking through those doors for the very first time, I was scared and worried that this would just be another thing I would go through that wouldn’t help at all. But it did help me a lot more than I thought it could. Today, I feel more confident talking to new people. I still get that gut feeling at first, but once talking for a while, it gets better, and I’ve made a lifetime friend along the way. I will hopefully be going on to a new programme around young women’s empowerment to help socialise with more people and hopefully make some more friends. I would like to thank all the team at Future SELPH for helping me find that bit of confidence I didn’t know I had.