Kay writes how she overcame her grief to pursue an incredible career in healthcare and move into her own home. Read her story:

I’m Kay and when I was 17 I went through a lot of big life events. I lost my Nan and my family broke down around me until I was kicked out and made homeless.

At the time, I hadn’t done well in my A-levels because of my bereavement, and I had no money saved up from helping out with the bills at home.

I found my local EveryYouth charity 1625ip on a whim really. I was scrolling on Facebook and saw an advert for it, so I just sent a message to see what happens.

“Without the support, I don’t know where I would be.“

I met Hannah, a member of staff at 1625ip, and she found me a place. They helped me straight away with a lot of therapy because my mental health was awful. That really helped me overcome a death and lots of trauma.

Once I got better, my EveryYouth Employed jobs coach helped me update my CV and showed me how to job search online. I applied to loads of job adverts and was offered an interview at a care home where I work part-time alongside my other job at the children’s hospital which has been great.

When me and Edward, who I met at 1625ip, were looking to move out, there just wasn’t a lot out there that we could afford. So, we decided to look for a place together and used the support from EveryYouth Homed to get a flat outside of Bristol and commute in together.

But now, I’ve just found out that I’ve been accepted into the Navy to complete a medical and nursing route, so I’ll be here, there and everywhere!

I really respect the staff that we’ve worked with, they have a really difficult job. The continued support throughout my journey has been super helpful. They even sorted us our with a £100 Argos voucher which was great!

When I was younger, I wasn’t aware of the support that existed! Now that I work at a children’s hospital, I know all about it but before that I had no idea. Without the support, I don’t know where I would be.

To find out more about our EveryYouth Employed programme click here.

To find out more about our EveryYouth Homed programme click here.