Grace started with us at Futureworks NY as a Year 10 student.
As she was home educated, Grace was referred via the home education officer for North Yorkshire County Council.
Grace attended a very informal chat with us accompanied by her mum and although she was very nervous about starting, she agreed a start date.
As Grace suffered with high anxiety, she started with the support of her mum, who would wait in the building while Grace attended session. Grace always needed to be sure that her mum was nearby due to her high anxiety.
Some days were definitely harder for Grace, when her anxiety be too much for her to even walk through our doors.
However, with support from us and her mum, she was given the opportunity to walk in via the back doors to avoid others in session and this helped build her confidence and reduce her anxiety.
Grace then enrolled in our weekly art sessions, supported by a local artist Richard, who volunteers some of his time.
These sessions were an opportunity to get creative whilst engaging in discussions with other young people who feel the same as Grace.
As time went by we could see Grace start to become more and more confident within these sessions and mum no longer waited in the building for her.
Grace has been with us now for over a year and in that time she has flourished.
She has produced some incredible art pieces and even joined a group to a trip to York and Newcastle.
When she was first asked about group excursions, she was a definite ‘no’ as she did not want to be away from family and the comfort that brought her.
For her to engage in these trips was a huge step forward in her self confidence and helped reduce her anxieties.
Grace has plans now to go to Scarborough TEC to study art and we are of course supporting her with this. We are so proud of Grace and we are using her as a peer mentor to other young people who are feeling anxious when they start with us.
“Wow! Just wow! The difference in Grace is amazing, we’re even now talking about applying for college. I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for her,” says Grace’s dad.
Grace says: “The team have helped me through my journey at Futureworks NY and I couldn’t be more grateful. They have encouraged me to try new things and come out of my comfort zone. I have become a more confident person because of Futureworks”.