Now, more than ever young people feel voiceless.
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Growing up as a teenager in the 1980s I felt let down by the system. Coming from a single parent background from a tough council estate with very little stability in my life, I found life challenging. School in particular made me feel worthless and inadequate. I may not have been the most able student but I knew I wasn’t stupid either, yet somehow school didn’t seem to offer me the opportunities it should. I was labelled a failure, a no hoper.
Frustrated, I rebelled against the system, and also my violent step-father. Finally, I was rejected by my step father at the age of 13 so consequently spent all of my teenage years, and much of my early adult life, in the care of the local authority – often sleeping rough on the streets and spending time in a number of youth offender institutions across the UK. Because I felt rejected by the system I lived outside the system by a completely different set of rules.
The turning point was the birth of my eldest child, Connor, in 1994. When my son was born I was determined that I would provide love, care and strong family values for him as my own upbringing often lacked these qualities. I knew I had to act given these new responsibilities. One day I decided enough was enough and that I had to better my life the only way I knew how – hard work. I decided I would go and buy a bucket and sponge and go out into the local community washing cars from the boot of my car.
Knocking on doors, touting for business, I soon grew a loyal customer base. So much so, that I needed to fund my rapidly growing business. I was directed to the Prince’s Trust where I undertook business management courses and ultimately secured the funding to buy my first van, and better equipment. I won numerous awards and was nominated for the Princess Trust Business of the year in 2000 becoming a North West Winner.
At the outset I had no skills to speak of, only my determination and willingness to learn. I made mistakes along the way but learnt quickly, grew in confidence and developed a wide range of business skills. Recognising something of myself in the youth of Blackpool, I endeavoured to give young people opportunities where others wouldn’t. Seeing young people with none existence self-worth grow into confident, able young people became far more important than any other aspect of running a business. I take great pride in the number of ex-employees who now run their own businesses or have made successful careers in various industries. Eventually I decided to sell my business to dedicate my time fully to supporting young people who are where I was – rejected, labelled, stigmatised and feeling like they don’t have a place in society.
My isolation and lack of support during childhood led me to Supporting young people its been a lifelong passion for me helping young adults to become employable. I deliver group 1-2-1 mentoring and coaching sessions developing their communication, customer service skills, CV writing, presenting, interview techniques, work experience, confidence building, sales and marketing along with business skills, developing a entrepreneurial mindset with a positive “yes I can” attitude.. I am passionate about creating change and have been able to provide single handed support to over 320 individuals. I have been working with schools to run early intervention programmes for those children who are at risk of exclusion. My clear vision and mission are to inspire and empower the next generation through mentoring enterprise programmes and instil in them that with ambition and determination anyone can achieve their dreams.
For me, sharing my story has empowered me to live each day to make a difference to the lives of young people. I live each day as if it was my last day and if I have not had an impact on someone’s live my life is not worth living. One young person I have supported Bradley, a young person I have supported felt isolated; not leaving his bedroom for 12 months, feeling let down by the education system where he was made to feel a failure. Through mentorship and coaching him he has built his confidence and was given stability to help him create a positive change in his life.
Now, more than ever young people feel voiceless. Many feel disenfranchised often leading to resentment and anti-social behaviour. They feel neglected that no one listens to them or cares about their needs. There are a lot of parallels between how I felt growing up and how young people feel today. I can fully relate to the challenges that young people face in today’s society, I was labelled a no hoper, a failure who had been rejected and failed by a broken system. I felt invisible, unsupported, isolated. I want to give a voice to the next generation and change young people’s mindsets.
My Story is hard hitting, delivered with passion, humility, sensitivity and surprisingly with a lot of fun.
Themes:
- Self Belief
- Positivity.
- Importance of Self-Talk
- Courage
- Raising Aspirations
- Taking Responsibility
- Resilience
- Self Awareness
and a whole lot more. Call or message me for more info 07809486931