Becky is 19 and left home after her Dad’s drinking became too much for her to cope with. Her mum died when she was 10 and her Dad turned to alcohol to deal with his grief. She moved in with her boyfriend at 17 as a way to get away from her Dad, but when that didn’t work out she found herself facing homelessness.
Jack came out as gay when he was 15. His family struggled to accept it and it caused tension and arguments at home. The situation came to a head when Jack was 16. After a huge row his Dad threw him out.
Susie ended up alone at 18 when her little sister was taken into care. She was struggling to cope and stopped going to college. Since moving into our 24-hour supported accommodation she is thriving. She’s back at college and dreams of being an astrophysicist.
Nathan was struggling with his family relationships and mental health after coming out to his family at 15. Our Youth Advice Service found him specialist help.
Tina found the support she received from our YMCA WiSE service invaluable following a difficult period in her life when she had been groomed by two older men.
After a chaotic few years Archie found stability at the YMCA. Now, with help from YMCA’s Life Change Fund he’s all set to take another big step forwards.
Sign up to our emails to stay updated on our work, events, campaigns, opportunities and young people’s stories. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please visit our privacy policy to learn more about how we safely manage your data.
Copyright © 2026 YMCA DownsLink Group.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Google reCAPTCHA helps protect websites from spam and abuse by verifying user interactions through challenges.
Stripe is a payment processing platform that enables businesses to accept online payments securely and efficiently.
Service URL: stripe.com (opens in a new window)
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Service URL: policies.google.com (opens in a new window)
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Google Maps is a web mapping service providing satellite imagery, real-time navigation, and location-based information.
Service URL: policies.google.com (opens in a new window)
