Katy* explains how EveryYouth helped to cover childcare costs for her son so she could return to work:

My name is Katy and I’m 22 years old. I moved to the UK in 2021 and started training as a nurse before I started working as a support worker with people with disabilities. In 2023 I fell pregnant with my son. There were issues with my mum and I could no longer stay at home.

I found a room in shared accommodation where I stayed for about six months, but a few weeks before giving birth I moved into temporary accommodation. Shortly after giving birth, I then moved again into supported accommodation for mothers and babies thanks to my local EveryYouth charity, St Basils. 

It wasn’t easy, having no support. My son’s father wasn’t around. I was going to the foodbank every week for my groceries. I struggled to get Universal Credit and to pay for my bills, but my Employability Coach at St Basils helped me with all the paperwork. She also helped me with my CV and writing cover letters. She has been really supportive. Without her, I don’t know if I would still be here.  

I wanted to start working again but I needed to pay for childcare. My Employability Coach told me I was entitled to receive 15 hours of childcare paid by the Government and she helped me apply for this. After a few hurdles, I will finally be receiving this in September. Thanks to the EveryYouth Employed programme, I can cover the cost of my son’s childcare from now until September, allowing me to get in touch with my employer to let them know I can return to work now.  

All I can say is I’m very thankful to St Basils for helping me get to this point, they didn’t leave me for a second. St Basils have really supported me in terms of getting food and clothing for son. They also provided me with grants to help pay my electricity bills and cover the cost of getting my provisional drivers licence.  

“It wasn’t easy, having no support. I was going to the foodbank every week for my groceries.”

In future, if everything moves smoothly, I would like to become a nurse. I was previously studying to become a nurse but partway through completing the course, it became no longer Government funded and I couldn’t afford the new fees.  

It has been a big challenge – the time between giving birth to my son and this month hasn’t been easy.  

Although I had some support from my midwife I was mostly by myself. I now feel relieved that I can go back to work. I know I won’t be earning a lot but I will at least start to pay off my debt. I’m thankful to St Basils for helping me to find a way to cover childcare costs.  

My advice to anyone else in a similar situation is to always stay strong and have hope. Tomorrow it could get better.  

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

*Name has been changed for privacy reasons