Aisha's Story
‘If it wasn’t for advocacy I don’t know where I’d be’
This story was written by one of our young advisors after interviewing Aisha
Aisha lived with her grandparents, where she was a young carer. She experienced bullying. She decided to move to live with her mum. However, home had bad memories of the life that she had left behind. She began to self harm, felt suicidal, and felt as though her life had fallen apart. Aisha was then referred to a mental health team but she felt they were not as supportive as she had hoped.
“It’s great that someone out there is dedicated to helping you get your voice heard”When one of the workers from the mental health team contacted an advocacy service, Aisha was hopeful that they would help her. Before working with her advocate, Aisha knew nothing about advocacy. Aisha felt instantly happy working with her advocate and formed a friendly and trusting relationship with them. They got to know each other which helped Aisha feel safe working with her advocate. Aisha’s advocate made her feel believed and helped her understand what was happening. Her advocate also helped her to find support groups to go to which gave Aisha a chance to enjoy herself in a safe and friendly place.
At first, Aisha was not using any self advocacy tools. However, with her advocate’s help, her strength grew and she found ways to help herself more, as well as helping others. She started to find life easier to cope with and has become more positive about the future. She is now working with the advocacy service, helping others to feel supported and to get their voice heard.
‘My advice would be that it’s OK to have an advocate, they can help you with things and make you realise that you aren’t alone’
We help young people age 6-19 in Somerset and Cardiff to get their views heard on issues affecting their emotional or mental wellbeing. Our service is free, independent and confidential.