MY JOURNEY FROM LIFE CHANCE TRUST TO CAMP AMERICA

When I first got involved with Life Chance Trust in 2023, I was quiet, lacked confidence and was struggling with my mental health. I never imagined that a few years later I would be travelling around America on my own.

I first took part in Life Chance Trust's Life Skills workshops, before moving on to their 1:1 mentoring programme, where I was matched with my mentor, Aaron.

My mentoring helped me build my confidence, try new things and start believing that I could achieve more than I thought. Towards the end of my mentoring, I booked my first ever holiday, which was a huge step for me.

Since then, I've been on several holidays, both with friends and on my own, and I also became a member of the Life Chance Trust Youth Board.

From getting a job to getting to America

One of the biggest things my mentoring helped me with was building the confidence to get a job. Having a job gave me the opportunity to earn my own money and, importantly, save up for experiences that I wanted to have.

That money helped me make my dream of going to America a reality.

This year, I travelled to America to work at a summer camp through Camp America. I worked as a camp counsellor, helping look after children and young people throughout their days. I was there to wake them up in the morning, take them to their activities and get involved with them throughout the day.

I met people from all over the world, including Australia and Poland, and made some amazing memories.

But my adventure didn't stop when camp finished. I travelled on my own to New York City, Niagara Falls and Seattle, before travelling up to and around Alaska.

Travelling around America alone is something I never would have imagined myself doing when I first started with Life Chance Trust.

Going from being a quiet, uncomfortable and stressed young person struggling with my mental health to travelling around America independently has been a massive change for me. Life Chance Trust also provided a small amount of support to help me make my Camp America experience happen, but getting there was something I had worked towards myself.

What’s Next?

I've now been invited back to Camp America next year, which I'm really excited about.

I've also got a holiday to Tenerife booked for later this year, and I'm already looking for somewhere new to travel to early next year for my 21st birthday.

Looking back, I don't think I could have imagined where my journey would take me when I first started with Life Chance Trust.

I'm really proud of how far I've come and excited to see where I go next.