23 Mar 2023
A St Albans mental health charity is appealing for the community to help raise £20K to enable them to get through the front door and move into their new home.
Youth Talk, which provides confidential and free counselling to young people in the St Albans area, was founded 25 years ago by local GP, Dr Ida Fairbairn, who believed there was a real need for counselling geared towards young people.
Ida recognised there was no where for young people to turn to talk about their worries/whatever was playing on their mind.
Chief executive David Barker revealed how in recent years, this need has been increasing at an alarming rate, especially since the pandemic.
“For the first time in the charity’s history the waiting list topped 100 young people waiting for crucial mental health support. When a young person is brave enough to ask for help they shouldn’t be kept waiting.
“Youth Talk has an ambitious five-year strategy to double its service provision and reach 20% more young people every year. It presently offers 80-100 counselling sessions a week and provides on average 18 one-to-one sessions per young person.”
The first goal to achieving their ambitions is Youth Talk’s new home at 64 London Road, – which will see an increase from four to eight therapy rooms – but they desperately need to raise the final funds to make the building a welcoming, safe space during a real time of need.
Case study: L’s story
L came to Youth Talk aged 21 having been at university, “knowing” that he had to talk things through in order to help him get on in the world.
His early life experiences had been traumatic. He suffered neglect from his mother who was struggling to cope. She was drinking to excess, depressed and not complying with her prescribed medication. She was also absent physically and emotionally, and as a toddler L learnt how to cook food under the grill.
After his parents separated L spent weekends with his sister at his dad’s house, where he suffered physical abuse, verbal abuse and loneliness. L was terrified whilst dad drank himself into a violent state.
Initially it was hard for L to put his past into words in front of a stranger. He has suffered deep depression for which he has sought medication. He has, in the past, regularly self-harmed.
Over time he grew to trust the safe space and the confidentiality of the counselling setting. He became able to attend to the needs of the deprived, frightened little boy and accept his feelings of anger and grieve for the parenting he did not have.
He used to struggle with living: the world was somewhere he did not want to be and internally he felt bleak and helpless, cut off from emotions and people.
Thanks to Youth Talk, L is now moving on with his life and achieving things he never thought he would or thought he would want to.
L is ready and motivated to move ahead and actively making choices with what he does with his life and what he can get out of living rather than being desperately stuck with what life cannot offer him. L feels happy about his next phase of life and can now smile.
Help transform a young life like L and support Youth Talk’s community appeal today.
The appeal page for donations is www.justgiving.com/campaign/newhome
Donate £500 and you’ll be invited to an exclusive event in Youth Talk’s new home and your name will be added to Youth Talk’s website wall of fame
Donate £1,000 and you’ll get your name on a plaque on the wall of Youth Talk’s new home; a thank you shout out on their social media; you’ll be invited to an exclusive event in their new home; and your name will be added to Youth Talk’s website wall of fame
Donate £2,000 and you’ll get a private tour around Youth Talk’s new home; a thank you shout out on their social media; your name on a plaque on the wall of their new premises; you’ll be invited to an exclusive event in their new home; and your name will be added to Youth Talk’s website wall of fame
When making your donation, please tick to receive updates from Youth Talk. Otherwise they will not receive your contact details from JustGiving and cannot invite you without your name and email!
