Economic Growth United Kingdom Project #20694

Therapy for 20 suicidal young people in Hackney

by Off Centre

Therapy for 20 suicidal young people in Hackney

Project Report | Nov 12, 2015
Off Centre has suffered a tragic loss

By Emily Collins | Fundraising Manager

Martin Williams

It is with great sadness we inform our GlobalGiving supporters that Martin Williams, our CEO, passed away on 12th October 2015. Martin was a well-respected charity leader in our community and a much-loved colleague and friend. His passing is a tremendous shock felt throughout the organisation and in the local community. He will be remembered for his humility, intelligence and integrity that shone through in all he did.

Over almost five years as CEO, Martin has moved Off Centre forward in leaps and bounds. He has led us to become one of the leading mental health organisations in the area, and ensured more young people in Hackney receive the support they need than ever before. Martin has left an outstanding legacy that will have impact for many years to come. He will be sorely missed by us all.

It is crucial that Martin’s good work is continued. The team here commits to continue what he has started, and make him proud. Martin’s family and Off Centre have been deeply touched by the many offers of support we have received. It is their wish that donations be sent to Off Centre in lieu of flowers. We have a memorial fund in his name.

We want to reassure all of our amazing donors that the vital work we do here is continuing, and every penny of your support continues to make a huge impact on the young people of Hackney. Even though this difficultt time, we are supporting and helping more 11 - 25 year olds than ever, and continuing to work towards better ways to ensure everyone gets their chance at a brighter future.

Since this GlobalGiving project began, we have used this funding towards therapy and advice for 7 young people. Most have been under 18, but three have been in their early 20s. All were struggling with suicidal thoughts when they came to us, and many had no where else to turn

Sue's Story

(Names and some details have been changed to protect the identity of our clients)

Sue first came to Off Centre for support 4 years ago. She was 19, and had just terminated her first pregnancy. She was in an abusive relationship, and didn’t feel like she could safely bring a child into her home. Her partner was being especially violent after discovering that she had sought an abortion. She was severely depressed and isolated from her friends and family. At the time, she was seen for 10 weeks by one of our senior therapists. She left early, because she said that exploring some of the issues was very painful for her, and she was frightened to delve any deeper into them.

Sue recently came back to Off Centre. She now has two children, and her partner is still very abusive. She said “now I’m older, I can see more clearly the issues I need help to overcome”. She said her lack of confidence is a major problem, and her low self-esteem. She is still very isolated, and only has her partner to turn to for support. She sometimes feels unable to get out of bed, and feels trapped by her depression.

Without the GlobalGiving funding, we would only be able to afford to allocate Sue to a 5 week therapy group, because our council funding as been so severely cut. Her therapist said “young women like Sue who have experienced long-term domestic abuse, are often made to feel unworthy by their partners. Especially if the damaging relationship has begun at a young age, Sue is unlikely to have experience of forming or maintaining healthy and meaningful relationships with others. Of course, she believes the problem is hers – she needs to be more confident, she needs to up her self-esteem. But those come as a side-effect of tackling the more insidious and toxic elements of depression and abuse, which she will not learn from a group. Sue needs focussed, patient, individual care to value & assert herself within her abusive environment.”

With your support we have been able to help Sue with individual therapy, where previously we would not have been able to. She's able to come every week, and delve deeper into the issues she's needs to address to improve her life. It's stories like Sue's that show how important support like ours can be for young people at their most vulnerable moments. And we're so grateful to you for helping us to continue our work. We look forward to keeping you up to date in the future. Thank you again for your support.

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Sep 3, 2015
One month on...

By Emily Collins | Fundraising Manager

Art therapy group

After an absolutely incredible response to our Gateway Challenge appeal, and with the donations and support of people like you, we managed to raise just over £3,000. This was enough to get us our permenant spot on Global Giving, and met our fundraising target to enable us to help 20 suicidal young people in Hackney. Thank you so much!

One month on, and we have used this funding towards therapy and advice for 4 young people so far (things are usually quiet during the summer holidays). Two were 18 or under, and the other two were 21. The young people we work with are dealing with some of the most complex challenges we can imagine, sometimes facing issues like abuse, becoming homeless and risking expulsion from school all within the same few weeks. In situations like these, a whole-team approach is needed to make sure their every need is supported, and that's exactly what we do here at Off Centre.

Julie's story

(Names and some details have been changed to protect the identity of our clients)

Julie is 18, and she comes from a Muslim family whose conservative traditions she strongly rejects. Her childhood was extremely traumatising for her, due to severe bullying and domestic violence. She also has a physical disability which makes it hard to walk very far. When she first came to us for support, despite being very academically successful, she had dropped out of her first year of University due to her severe social anxiety. She struggled to keep eye contact, and even riding the bus with others on it would make her feel panic. She felt paranoid that she would be attacked whenever she left her home, but she also spent several nights each month sleeping rough after arguments with her parents. When she arrived to Off Centre she also said that she had made plans to end her life, and felt very depressed.

We offered her Art Therapy and worked with her in weekly individual sessions. She spent a lot of time focussed on creating images of her home life, contrasted with images of how she would like to be living. She said she felt it much easier to talk when she did not have to keep eye contact with our therapist, and could focus on using paints and pencils, but gradually over time they built a strong therapeutic relationship and she was able to sit and speak at length without needing arts materials.

She made fantastic progress, and said “I’ve become more comfortable about other people , I am now more open & honest, & talkative to people” She began to work at building up her confidence in tackling social situations, and is now able to travel on public transport and spend time with her close friends without feeling panicked. With the support of our Caseworker, she even managed to attend an interview for a new University course starting next year! Our Caseworker also made sure she had access to emergency hostel accommodation on nights when she felt unable to safely stay in her parents’ home.

It's stories like Julie's that show how important support like ours can be for young people at their most vulnerable moments. And we're so grateful to you for helping us to continue our work. We look forward to keeping you up to date in the future.

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