Katie - Cumbria Youth Alliance

Katie started on the Choices programme in July 2018. Katie was struggling with her mental health and, although very supported by her family, lacked reasons to get out of the house. She received one to one support, as well as attending group sessions centred around emotional resilience, mental health and wellbeing, personal finance and positive decision making. She grew in confidence while attending the Young Leaders summer programme in July 2019 and slowly began taking a more active role in Cumbria Youth Alliance activities, acting as a peer supporter to new participants who were nervous about group situations and eventually creating and leading sessions around emotional resilience. Katie is now a regular volunteer for Cumbria Youth Alliance, currently leading online social groups to help young people through the Covid 19 lockdown. She is actively trying to be more involved and looking for career opportunities. Katie said “since starting the programme, my whole world and how I view it has done a complete 180. Without the help of Cumbria Youth Alliance, I don’t think I would have found my reason to get out of bed in the morning. My mental health has improved dramatically, as well as my confidence and self esteem. I’m grateful that the staff there believed i had potential and really gave me a chance. I can’t thank them enough.’