Case Study – Katey England

Before starting the LFRS Prince’s Trust Team programme Katey’s confidence, self esteem and self belief were almost nonexistent. She describes her life as being “in a downward spiral with nothing positive happening”. From an early age she always felt like she never fitted in with her friends often because she had a lot more to cope with. On the outside Katey appeared like a happy confident girl who had lots of friends and got on with anybody. On the inside it was a completely different story, up until her 16^thbirthday nobody knew what was really happening to her.

From the age of 11 until just before her 16^th birthday Katey was sexually and physically abused. Finally after disclosing the abuse the perpetrator was brought to justice. During this period Katey found a number of ways of trying to ‘cope’ mainly by hurting herself physically to deal with the emotional and mental pain. Self harming became her way of getting through. But this was not the end of Katey’s anguish. Far from it, Katey started to really struggle with her mental health.

After leaving school she started sixth form to study for A level qualifications. It started well, but then she hit a really bad patch with her mental health and did not complete her second year, which meant she did not get the A level qualifications she had planned for. She then spent a large amount of time in and out psychiatric wards, including being sectioned under the Mental Health Act. This had a huge impact on her life and often stopped her from trying to do new things. This included a course in nursing at the University of Central Lancashire. Because of her ill health Katey had to take time out and that resulted in her having to leave the course completely. As hard as she has tried and no matter how much of a front she put on for people her past creeps back into the present. She continually felt trapped and however hard she tried to move forward she ended up going twenty steps backwards. The light at the end of the tunnel never seemed to be getting any closer. Katey’s past has taken her to some very bleak black places and has had a huge effect on how she is now.

Katey was referred to the Team programme by one of her support workers. She attended an interview and made the decision that she wanted to give it a go to help her get her life back on track. Due to the barriers and issues that she had been battling with, Katey had not managed to complete anything that she had started up to this point of her life. Taking part in the course was not easy for her as she continued to struggle with her mental health problems. As the weeks progressed Katey’s confidence started to improve.

During the Team programme Katey developed her basic life skills including confidence, tolerance and communication and learned many new skills for example teamwork, first aid and leadership. An example of Katey’s improved confidence came in weeks 3-5 when she assumed the joint responsibility of Team Leader for the team’s community project. The team chose to paint a pedestrian subway. As they started the project it became clear that it involved a lot more work than they first thought, with lots of logistical issues. The main issue being the quantity of different coloured paints. Katey delegated workloads and made numerous phone calls to local businesses for support. One such phone call lead directly to a company donating £1500 worth of anti vandal paint to help preserve the project. Whilst painting the subway Katey learned the value and importance of good team work and communication with the rest of the team. This was demonstrated in the amount of hard work they put into completing the project within a very short time scale. Another key aspect of her personal development is that she was able to evidence her work on the project towards the City & Guilds qualification of ‘Contributing to the Community and gaining Key Skills in Problem Solving, Working With Others and Improving Own Learning’. Another skill that Katey developed during the community project was reliability and good time keeping, turning up on time each day to ensure the project was completed on time. Her calm and charming personality helped to motivate the rest of the team.

The best example of how much Katey’s confidence and self esteem has grown came at the final presentation when she read her individual speech in front of 100 invited guests. In doing so she disclosed very personal details about her past and present life, something that she has continued to do in her role as a Volunteer and Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador.

As part of the 12-week Team programme Katey completed four sessions in ‘Step Up’ to volunteering and gained an AQA qualification. The purpose of ‘Step Up’ is give young people an insight into voluntary work, when for various reasons they may not be ready to become full time volunteers. Immediately following the completion of the Team programme Katey became a volunteer with Step Up gradually increasing her hours until she became full time and then she made enquiries about becoming a Young Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust. With Step Up Katey has given around 600 hours of her time, helping in a variety of activities, including helping to organize events in and around Blackpool and making speeches about her own problems to encourage other young people to overcome problems with their lives.

Perhaps Katey’s greatest achievement has been her work as a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador. Having completed an induction course in October last year Katey has been very active in the last nine months, she has attended 10 events and has given 113 hours of her time to help and promote the Prince’s Trust. Katey has made speeches at numerous conferences and impressed audiences with her story of development and achievement. She attended her first event on her own to inform a group of funders how the Prince’s Trust has helped her. Katey made a very positive impression on the funder, which resulted in the continued relationship with the funder and reinforced the importance of the charity’s work. Another example came at the Zurich Cares Conference in London where she spoke in great detail about her journey and encouraged the staff to keep up their good work and continue to fundraise for the Prince’s Trust.

Katey is now a full time volunteer dividing her time between Step Up and being a Young Ambassador. Katey has no doubts that the Team programme has helped her to turn her life around. Looking back over the past twelve months Katey can see how far she has come and how much she has changed. She says;

“Having someone believe in you, when you don’t believe in yourself means so much; it gave me the fight I needed to continue on the course. The Team Leaders never gave up on me even when I wanted to quit the course. I have so much more confidence now and I actually enjoy my life. The Princes Trust gave me the chance to get my life back, I took it and now I can help others who are where I was”.

Without the Prince’s Trust there is absolutely no doubt that Katey’s life would still be in a downward spiral. In her role as a Young Ambassador and full time volunteer Katey’s confidence, self esteem and self belief have soared. Katey is continuing her outstanding work as a volunteer and Young Ambassador, helping to reach those young people who are where she was.

Greg Plummer Team Leader of five years says;

“I have witnessed many positive outcomes with young people but none more so than with Katey. There can be no doubt that Katey has succeeded in the face of adversity with a never give up attitude. She is an outstanding example and inspiration for other young people and with her infectious smile, warm and friendly personality she is continuing to wow audiences and inspire other young people”.