“Having a mentor is amazing, it’s become so much easier to talk about how I am feeling”
Hi, I’m Claire, I’m 20 and I’m from Stroud.
I’ve been being supported by The Door for a while now. It all started when my parents were sorting out their divorce and I was struggling at school.
There was so much change going on, I felt like I wasn’t in control and I started getting anxious.
I’d get stuck inside my head and when I got scared, I got angry. I got in trouble for talking back to my teachers and getting into fights at break time. Eventually, I got suspended and had to spend some time at home.
Being stuck at home my anxiety started to grow and grow, so much that I didn’t want to leave home at all, let alone go back to school when I could.
Even though I was being a really rubbish student and wasn’t even in school my teachers still wanted to help me and asked my mum to take me to see someone at The Door.
I was worried about what might happen when I went to The Door but the team there were so friendly. We sat down and they listened to me, not just to my mum but to me. I felt heard and it felt good.
I was matched with a volunteer mentor called Megan, we had some interests in common so The Door thought we could get along. To start with I didn’t say much, we went for walks and my mentor did most of the talking. I thought she might give up on me but we kept going. Some weeks I wouldn’t talk at all and some weeks I couldn’t bring myself to leave my bedroom. But over time the talking bit got easier. And so did the going outside and I started to trust my mentor more.
Missing so much school had messed up my exams, but Megan said that didn’t matter. When the time was right she helped me apply for college to do some GCSEs (which I passed!) I’ve gone on to get A-Levels and started volunteering with a local club where I’ve made friends and really boosted my confidence.
Having a mentor is amazing, it’s become so much easier to talk about how I am feeling and to share what is happening inside my head. I’m so grateful to Megan and The Door for sticking with me. No other service has been able to do that.
Before The Door I wasn’t in school and I wasn’t talking to anyone. Now I can talk to people about my feelings and I’m on track for my dream career. Megan doesn’t have to work so hard to get things out of me any more which I’m sure she appreciates too.
Between 12pm on Monday 15th and 12pm on Monday 22nd May 2023, you can make a donation to The Door and it will be doubled by a trust fund thanks to The Big Give. They want to raise £5000 to help pay for training and supporting mentors like Megan for mentees like me. We know money is tight right now but if you can spare a few pounds (or lots of pounds) to make a donation in this special week, it will be able to go twice as far. So please donate today at https://www.thedoor.org.uk/donate and help The Door help more people like me.
Thank you
