By The Prince's Trust | Prince's Trust
A difficult upbringing played havoc with Amy’s schooling, leaving her deeply suspicious of other people and depressed. The Prince’s Trust Team programme however was there to help her develop a new sense of trust, self-belief, and a positive outlook for the future.
From a very early age, life was very stressful for Amy, 19, from Wolverhampton. At five, she had the responsibility of looking after three younger siblings. Amy experienced abuse and by the time she entered care at seven, she had not attended more than a few weeks of school.
She was diagnosed with ADHD – this combined with her difficult childhood made life very difficult and Amy struggled at school. Through her teenage years she also became depressed which had a huge impact on her outlook on life and the future. Prior to joining The Prince’s Trust Team programme, which helps young people gain the skills and confidence to find work, she was feeling extremely pessimistic about her future.
Disengaged, and reluctant to get involved in any meaningful way with others, Amy made a slow start on the Team programme, but over the following 12 weeks she made remarkable progress.
Experience had taught her to be wary of people, so learning to trust others was vital. At first, Amy would look for any opportunity to be confrontational, but programme staff helped her develop techniques to stop and think before reacting to others. She was given responsibility to run sessions and help support members of the group, which put her new skills to the test and took her well out of her comfort zone. Finding that she could cope with these situations gave her confidence a big boost.
Since completing the programme, Amy feels much happier with life and is cautiously optimistic. She has been volunteering three days a week for The Prince’s Trust, and spends the other two days taking classes to improve her English and maths. Longer term, she aspires to work with young people, giving them the support like she has received from The Prince’s Trust.
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