Sandile joined us at YMCA Derbyshire as she was declared homeless by her parents.

“I was terrified at first as I have only lived in England for a year and did not really know much about it.”

Our accommodation staff helped Sandile to see the bright side of her situation by ensuring she was given full support physically and emotionally.

“The staff at the YMCA helped me take note of my strengths and work on them in order to build my confidence.”

By working with the accommodation team, Sandile learned a lot about herself and has big plans for her future.

“One of the most important value I got from the YMCA is that dreams don’t work unless you do hard work and being humble will take you places. In the future I hope to be a Social Worker and I am ready to change the world.”

Sandile has now moved on from our campus accommodation and has a flat of her very own. She hopes to attend university very soon to become a social worker. In December 2020, she won the Young Hero of the Year Award at the DerbyshireLive Heroes Awards due to her peer support group leading work with other young people at the YMCA.

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