Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Reflections on Red Bank Secure Unit
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Last Thursday, during the Boss Your Future programme with Genuine Futures, I found myself back in a place I’d tried for years to leave behind. Not physically, but deep in my mind. Terry Walker, founder of The Scrappers, stood up and shared his story with a room full of young people who know more about survival than most adults ever will.
“I was 12 years old when I was sent to Red Bank Secure Unit,” Terry said. “It was supposed to help kids like us, but it broke us instead. We didn’t have a voice. We didn’t have hope.”
His words hit me hard — because I was there too, at 13. Red Bank was meant to be a place of safety and rehabilitation for vulnerable young people. But for so many of us, it was a place of sadness, fear, abuse, and violence. The walls didn’t just keep us in — they kept our voices out.
No one ever asked what we needed. No one offered us trust, purpose, or a sense of belonging. We were children locked away behind fences and barred windows, carrying shame for things that were never our fault. Many of us are still carrying it now.
That’s why I do what I do today — and why I stand shoulder to shoulder with Terry, The Scrappers, and every partner who believes in second chances. Together, through Genuine Futures and our social enterprise, We Shine Any Car, we’re not just teaching young people a trade. We’re showing them that they matter. We’re giving them a voice, but also something just as important — the chance to feel a sense of purpose, to build trust, and to finally experience true belonging.
“Every kid deserves someone to believe in them, even when they don’t believe in themselves yet,” Terry told the group last week. “That’s what this is all about — giving them the chance we never got.”
We Shine Any Car is more than just car valeting. It’s a place where young people can show up every day and know they’re needed. It’s somewhere they can trust that they’ll be respected and paid fairly for their work. It’s somewhere they belong — a team that doesn’t judge them by what they’ve done, but by what they’re willing to do now.
Through Genuine Futures, we’re building a community that listens — a community that stands up for young people who’ve had no one stand up for them. We’re turning our own lived experience into leadership, proving that the system doesn’t get the last word on our stories.
We can’t rewrite what happened to us at Red Bank, but we can make sure the next generation never feels so alone, unheard, and forgotten. Giving a voice to the voiceless means more than just speaking up — it means building trust, offering purpose, and creating belonging where there was once only isolation.
So here’s my message to you:
- Listen to those who feel unheard.
- Give your time to those who’ve been left behind.
- Help us build places of purpose and belonging for the young people who need it most.
Because every young person deserves a future worth shining for.