Leave A Gift In Your Will

As you can imagine, being born addicted to drugs was a pretty tough start to Liam’s life. Liam’s mum struggled to stay clean, and she and Liam’s dad would argue. Growing up, Liam watched them hurt each other, fight after fight. It is often childhood trauma that leads to misbehaviour in teenage boys. In his adolescence, Liam had trouble with drugs, police, and he stopped attending school. What do you remember about being 15 years of age? Liam was homeless, forced to choose between couch surfing, or sleeping rough on the streets of the Shire. He would often hurt himself, as a way to block everything else out. He was angry at the world and felt so alone. By chance, Liam’s friend participated in a fitness program run by Project Youth, ‘Muscle Up’. One day, Liam snuck onto the bus. When found, the youth workers invited him join in, which involved a personal training session, breakfast and a ride home. Liam got chatting to a youth worker over breakfast. That morning, Liam’s life changed for the better. Liam talked. We listened. He wanted to leave school, so we helped him to get work experience. Liam went on to achieve a certificate in hospitality at Café Y - an attainment to be proud of, for the first time in his life. Donors like you helped Liam to claim benefits, receive legal aid, clear his debt, receive medication for his mental health, get ID, and overcome his dependence on drugs. Liam felt safe to talk about things he had never told anyone before. I remember him saying that he knew things were different when he ‘actually wanted to get out of bed in the morning’. Liam moved into our crisis refuge, and three months later he was supported into ‘semi- independent housing’. With a stable home, he even rebuilt relationships with his family, which he did not think would be possible. Project Youth never gave up on Liam. Today he lives with his girlfriend in private rental, he is safe, and he is happy. Your donation to Project Youth can truly transform the life of a young person like Liam.