Hi I’m Kelly I’m 16 and I go to youth club at The Door. This is my story so far:

It’s rubbish when you feel like no one is listening. That’s how I felt last year, at home, school and with my friends.

No one was listening to me.

So, I stopped talking.  If no one wants to listen to me I must not be worth listening to, I told myself.

I felt worthless.

The only time people did talk to me was when I was messing around, so I messed around.
At least then someone was noticing that I was there. When I started going to youth club at The Door I messed around so that the youthworkers would have to spend time with me.

One day a youthworker came and sat next to me. They explained that I didn’t need to mess around to get their attention, that they were here to listen to me and support me with whatever I needed.

We talked about how I didn’t think anyone listened to me and for the first time in a long time, I felt heard. The Door didn’t ignore me or tell me to be quiet, they took the time to listen to me.

Then we talked about how as I was one of the older young people in youth club that I should be being a positive role model for the younger ones. I’d never really thought of myself as someone worth looking up to but I liked the idea.

So since then I’ve tried really hard to set a good example. I’ve been helping the youthworkers set up activities and making them cups of tea. (Mine are the best, by the way)!

Most importantly we’ve been talking about my day and checking in about school and home.

Life’s much easier when you have someone to talk to. So thank you for listening to me when I felt invisible.

Now I know my voice is worth hearing.”

Step up this spring and walk, jog, run or cycle your way to 100Km in May to help raise vital funds towards helping Keep The Door Open for young people like Kelly. – Find out more at thedoor.org.uk/events/100kinmay