As this week is Children’s Mental Health Week we wanted to share the ‘Growth Story’ of one our lovely young people!
Nicky was referred to us around 3 years ago. At this time, she was having difficulties with her mental health and was receiving support from Positive Steps. The staff there had been made aware of us here at Canongate Youth and referred Nicky for some one-to-one support with Sima, our Wellbeing Worker.
At this time, we facilitated a Health and Wellbeing group, weekly, for young women. Upon chatting with Sima, Nicky agreed to come along to the wellbeing group to see how it could benefit her. This group was developed as a space where the young women we were working with could come together and discuss all that surrounds our health and wellbeing, in a supportive and non-judgmental way.
At first, Nicky was nervous but she didn’t let that stop her and participated in her first session. She continued to attend this group for around 8 months, during which time Nicky was working on getting herself into a place where she felt ready to take on the challenge of university. As the prospect of Uni loomed closer, Nicky came to a realisation that she wasn’t going to be ready for it quite yet and was successful in applying for an alternative college course. Sima supported Nicky with this transition and we were so pleased to learn that she had moved on to something positive, that she hadn’t thought was possible at the beginning of that year.
After some time had passed, Cat was chuffed to see Nicky sitting in our café one day – she had popped in to say hello and let us know how she was getting on. It was fantastic to hear that she had finished her college course and was now at University, had moved into her own accommodation, had been working for a while and that things were going so much better with her mental health.
Nicky was really keen to let us know how much our support had helped her build her confidence and take on new challenges and we were really delighted to hear how she had faced new adversities and taken them on, without CY there to support her. She asked if she could volunteer with us at our wellbeing group as she really wanted the opportunity to give something back – which we happily arranged.
Nicky has been a perfect example of how we can work together with our young people to strengthen their skills and confidence for life, and how we can support them to use their experiences to inspire other young people.