Lucy, 13, has grown in confidence and is attending school regularly after being supported by Power2.

Lucy, 13, is from Manchester. When her school went back to in-person teaching after the COVID-19  lockdowns, her teachers noticed that she was not coming into school. After speaking to Lucy, she shared that she was too anxious to come in. She was missing a lot of lessons which meant she was falling behind academically, and she was very unhappy. Her mother, Meryl, didn’t know what to do.

The welfare lead at Lucy’s school recommended her for our programme, Power2 Rediscover. Power2 Rediscover was designed to help young people whose mental wellbeing has suffered because of the pandemic. It provides support on a 1-1 basis for ten weeks, and helps young people develop healthy habits, set and work towards future goals, and boost their self-esteem and confidence. It was perfect for Lucy.

But there was a problem. Lucy’s anxious feelings were so bad, she could not come to school to attend the sessions at all.

This didn’t deter our team. Instead of meeting Lucy at school, we arranged to see her in a quiet room in our office. Lucy’s Power2 Programme Lead said “I remember seeing a shy girl who would not make eye contact with anyone but me. She would leave the office as fast as she could.”

Her Power2 Programme Lead made her feel comfortable and supported so that they could begin working through the Power2 Rediscover workbook together. They identified Lucy’s strengths, as well as what she wanted to work on, and came up with a plan for how she could achieve her goals.

Lucy made phenomenal progress. By the end of the ten weeks, she was able to go back to her classroom and join in lessons again. However, we felt that Lucy needed more support with building her confidence and overcoming her anxiousness.

As a result, Lucy joined our new Power2 Thrive programme, a development of our flagship Teens and Toddlers programme. Like Teens and Toddlers, young people mentor a toddler and take part in group discussions afterwards, but the Power2 Thrive curriculum is designed to provide more support for young people’s mental health.

At the beginning of the programme, she was scared to engage with her toddler mentee, but by the end, they had formed a close relationship. She was able to get on his level to play with him and being his role model boosted her self-esteem and confidence.

Lucy’s Power2 Programme Lead said “Lucy adapted really quickly. She made friends and interacted with the little ones so well. Her confidence each week grew and grew; it was amazing to see.”

What’s more, the girl who previously could not enter a group setting was now confidently chatting with her peers and making friends. Some of Lucy’s closest friends are her fellow students from the Power2 Thrive programme. 

Lucy is now doing much better. She is back in school regularly and is much happier and less anxious. Her Programme Lead said “Lucy is a leader amongst her peers now, and she interacts with them without needing any support.” Lucy’s mum says “Power2 went out of their way to help Lucy. It meant a lot, when I left her with you, I knew she was in safe hands. Her confidence has really built up.”