AN OPTIMISTIC young Coventry man has won a prestigious King’s Trust award for overcoming ‘dark times’ in his life to have a positive impact on his community.
Harry, 23, won the Homesense Young Achiever Award, which recognises an inspiring young person who has overcome barriers to succeed in work, at the King’s Trust Awards.
Despite having faced many challenges including trauma and homelessness, Harry secured a job as an instructor with Coventry City Council’s Outdoor Education Service (OES).
He is now helping young people, who face challenges themselves, to build their confidence and leadership skills.
Harry said: “It’s been a long journey to get to this point. Winning the award was a surprise! It has enabled me to see how far I have come. I’m now in a job I love, helping young people who also face challenges.
“Taking part in The King’s Trust programme dramatically changed me and my outlook on life. I realised I could have a positive future, doing something I love instead of continuing down the wrong path.
“Finding employment, helping young people who also face challenges just like me is so rewarding and I have The Trust and Coventry Outdoor Service to thank for helping me to get to this point and get my life back on track.”
Despite a difficult childhood, losing his mum at a young age, getting in trouble with the police, struggles with his mental health and homelessness, Harry has gone on to create a bright future for himself.
“My life started to unravel after my mum died,” he said. “I rarely attended school and had no routine. I started to spend less time at home and instead started going down the wrong path.”
Harry later moved in with a family member, but little changed, with his mental health hitting rock bottom due to a particularly traumatic event in his personal life, resulting in him being hospitalised after an attempt on his own life.
After leaving hospital, Harry found himself homeless and sofa surfing.
“Life was chaotic,” he said. “I was struggling with my mental health, my confidence was the lowest it had ever been, I had no job, no qualifications and no permanent home. I felt like I had no real prospects or skills to overcome the challenges I was facing. It was a dark time.”
It was during his time seeking support from local homelessness charity St Basil’s that Harry found out about The King’s Trust Get Started in Outdoor Leadership programme, which led him to Coventry City Council’s Outdoor Education Service (OES).
“Getting involved with the Coventry Outdoors team through The King’s Trust programme saved my life,” he said.
“I wasn’t socialising with others and didn’t feel comfortable meeting a group of new people. I was feeling stressed about my situation and definitely didn’t think I had the confidence to learn new skills or lead anything.
“I was given the opportunity to lead the group in some group activities which really boosted my confidence and helped me realise I did have leadership skills, bringing people together. People trusted me and it made me feel like I was able to help others and help myself.”
Harry thrived on the programme, gaining new skills, rebuilding his confidence, attaining ten new qualifications and eventually finding employment with the OES.
Harry is now able to live independently, runs weekly groups on personal development, does one-to-one work with young people at risk of exclusion in schools, and has further aspirations of becoming a qualified counsellor.
He added: “I’d like to thank The King’s Trust and Coventry Outdoors Education and Adventure Service for believing in me. I now feel positive about my future and my career.”
