Real lives – Meron’s Story
Find out how your support is helping Meron find safety and opportunity. Meron fled conflict and political oppression in Eritrea, hoping to find greater safety and opportunities in the UK.…
Trapped in the Cost of Living Crisis: YMCA Report Reveals Desperate Choices Of Our Nation’s Young People
New research released today by YMCA paints a stark picture of the challenges and harsh truth imposed by the ongoing cost of living crisis, particularly affecting young individuals in supported…
Meet YMCA Barry Y’s Girls Project Coordinator – Cat McKay
Cat started her journey with YMCA Barry Y’s Girls Project as a volunteer mentor, before training as a Youth Worker and joining the team as a Project Coordinator. Get to…
The Power of Youth: Could the Next General Election be the Turning Point?
A new report released by YMCA today shows that some 86% of young people under the age of 25 intend to vote in the forthcoming General Election. The survey of…
YMCA research highlights that the benefits system is preventing some young people from gaining employment
Benefits are too low to live on, especially for young people under the age of 25, suggests YMCA, a leading youth organisation supporting young people and adults. The charity has…
Supporting Youth Ambassadors
Thank you for supporting Youth Ambassadors Ensuring YMCA services really speak to the changing needs of young people means embedding young people’s realities at the heart of everything we do.…
Real Lives – Darcy
My mum never had time when I was growing up. She had six kids, seven jobs and alcohol issues. It was chaos. My granddad started sexually abusing me when I…
In Celebration of Young People
Young people, staff and volunteers were honoured for their outstanding efforts and achievements in the face of adversity at YMCA’s Youth Matters Awards 2022. Behind all of the stories guests…
Inspiring stories of intergenerational support – International Youth Day
Ahead of International Youth Day (12 August), and considering the increasingly vital support to be found in communities during such challenging times, we wanted to highlight a project run by YMCA Plymouth which captures…
YMCA | International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England & Wales: “Each year on International Women’s Day (IWD) we not only celebrate women’s achievements but also their determination to…
Scott’s story
Scott, 14 years old, attends a YMCA run open access youth club on Mondays and Thursdays. Gang crime is very prevalent in the area in which Scott lives in and…
Alan’s story
Alan is 28 years old and is a youth worker at YMCA Hayes. Alan arrived to the UK from South Africa (Alan is originally from Zimbabwe) as a refugee and…
Taybah’s story
Taybah is 16 years old, has just started studies at her local college and attends YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire’s Foleshill Girls Open Access Provision. Before Taybah attended any sort of…
Kieron’s story
Kieron has experienced stress, depression and anxiety since hitting his teenage years. As part of #IAMWHOLE, Kieron shares his experience to raise awareness of mental health stigma, in his own…
Winner’s story: “In that moment I felt so proud of everything I’d achieved”
Sophia Zahra first came to YMCA when she was 17 years old, during one of the lowest points of her life (read her story here). Here she tells us what…
Lewis’ story
“Being on the street is scary, very scary. When I was about 14 years old, I used to suffer with major anxiety because of bullying in school, I could not go…
Rachel’s story
“Before I went to YMCA, I was beyond depressed. Both my parents abused me as a child – psychological, physical, sexual abuse.” Rachel’s story is featured as part of our…
Chelsea’s story
Chelsea was sexually abused by a family member when she was just six years old. This horrific trauma was at the root of her multiple and undiagnosed mental health difficulties;…
Ray’s story
This time last year, after the relationship with his family broke down, Ray found himself homeless. He wanted nothing more for Christmas, than to have a roof over his head,…
Dannielle’s story
Dannielle’s story Dannielle was 19 years old when she came to YMCA. She was incredibly depressed due to problems at home, and when her brother was violent towards her, Dannielle…
Amy’s story
At just 16 years old, Amy’s relationship with her mother deteriorated, she felt she had no choice but to leave home and ended up sleeping on the streets. She was…
Mhairi’s Story
Mhairi left her family home as a teenager to move in with her then boyfriend. When the relationship broke down, she felt unable to go back to her parents and…
Mike’s #IAMWHOLE story
Mental health stigma is rife- I should know, I’ve spent a year working on a mental health campaign, but never spoke out myself. A year ago today, YMCA and the…
Sophia’s Story
Sophia’s mental health difficulties started when she was at primary school. When she lost her mum to cancer aged 13 and became a sole carer for her grandmother, things took…
Gabe’s Story
Gabe first started to experience signs of psychosis when he was five years old. Dealing with hallucinations, he didn’t tell anyone about his difficulties until things reached breaking point when…
Natalie’s Story
Natalie always felt different from a young age, but never knew what made her different. Being diagnosed with Asperger’s, she struggled with anxiety and panic attacks. Now, 21, Natalie volunteers…
Florence’s story
Florence’s eating disorder started out slow, just limiting her food intake a little here and there. But as soon as she started controlling her eating, it became a slippery slope…
Mel’s story
When Mel first arrived at YMCA, she was vulnerable and afraid and had run out of options. After her parents split up when she was 12, Mel found herself relying…
I was bullied about my looks throughout school – Courtney’s story
Courtney was bullied about her appearance throughout school, which lead her to undergo plastic surgery when she was just 16 years old. Her low body image and the constant bullying…
Sophie’s story
When Sophie first arrived at YMCA, she was 18 years old and clearly distressed. Her mental health problems had forced her to leave her family home and, when the council-run…
People deal with mental health difficulties on a daily basis – Joey Bevan
With close to 80,000 followers on social media, professional fashion stylist, designer and hairstylist Joey Bevan is well known in the fashion industry. Starting his humble beginnings at a YMCA…
Supporting other young people helps me to manage my mental health difficulties
Toni, 25, is a LGBT Leader and Mental Health Champion at YMCA Bolton. Below she shares her experiences with depression and anxiety to mark Mental Health Awareness Week ( 8…
Carlie’s story – building a career from an apprenticeship
Carlie is one of many young people who took on an apprenticeship. Below she tells us in her own words about her experience and why she thinks more young people…
Jason’s story
Jason was homeless and living in a tent during winter, but your kind support helped him find somewhere safe to stay. Jason lost his job in a supermarket just before…
Beatrice: Somebody Like Me, #BeRealSchool in my own words
Beatrice, 13, is one of the young people that took part in our research report Somebody Like Me. Below she tells us about what she thinks about body confidence and…
Nathan: Somebody Like Me, #BeRealSchool in my own words
Nathan, 14, took part in a focus group for our new research report Somebody Like Me. Below he tells us why he thinks young people are increasingly worried about their…
Rianna’s story
Rianna was trapped in an abusive relationship for several years. Her boyfriend beat her so badly that she ended up in hospital more than once. Then one day, when she…
Dexter: #IAMWHOLE in my own words…
Dexter, 17, London Dexter, a young transgender man, has struggled with mental health difficulties since he was 10-years-old. It was hard for his family to accept and, struggling to…
Louis: #IAMWHOLE in my own words…
Louis, 19, south east England Both Louis parents were alcohol dependent, making his childhood a difficult one. When he was 13 years-old he started self-harming and didn’t tell anyone about his…
Charlie: #IAMWHOLE in my own words
Charlie, 22, south west England Charlie was in his last year at university when the stress of studying for his undergraduate degree became too much for him to handle.…
Connie: #IAMWHOLE in my own words…
Connie, 22, south east England When Connie was 16-years-old, she developed an eating disorder and, feeling unable to ask for help, she struggled with it all on her own for…
All about … YMCA’s peer support project, Mad 4 U
YMCA Sunderland runs a peer-led education project called Mad 4 U that educates young people and local agencies on the dangers of legal highs.