“I’ve opened up to people instead of bottling all of my feelings up inside” – Shannah’s Story

Before joining the Prince’s Trust TEAM Programme, I hadn’t been doing anything as I wasn’t that long out of school. I would just stay at home sleeping out of boredom. I was lacking in confidence due to my home environment and negative experiences during my school years. I applied for numerous jobs and none of them got back to me. This used to put me down as I didn’t know how to take rejection.

When I first turned up I thought it was going to be scary because I didn’t like socialising with people because of past experiences. My favourite part of the programme has been being able to open up to people and gaining their trust instead of bottling all of my feelings up inside.

I have gained lots of experiences in the past 13 weeks on the TEAM programme, including gaining certificates in AED and First Aid. I’ve improved my confidence and communication skills, and gained some lifelong friends.

Now that the TEAM programme has finished, I am starting to volunteer at a retirement home so I can gain experience working with the elderly before hopefully moving onto an apprenticeship in health and social care.