I gained the opportunity to join as a Young Partner through one of my teachers at college, who was a part of Peer Power Youth at the time. I was hesitant at first but when he told me about what the charity was about and what they stood for, and how beneficial it would be for me, I realised that this may be the step forth that I needed. . Someone from Peer Power came into my college to see us and I was sold from that meeting. It felt like becoming a Young Partner was a gateway to being around young people who have already walked in similar shoes as me as well as helping others currently going through similar experiences.
Whilst I have been at Peer Power, my personal life has been bumpy, but it has always felt very easy to be comfortable working with them, which allowed me to give all my energy in all the sessions. I have had the opportunity to gain knowledge on how the NHS creates their questionnaires at youth support services and the potential changes they could apply in those. I also co-hosted Peer Power Youth’s Annual Awards, which was an honour. It felt great to receive the Creative Collaborator Award and stand next to my colleagues with their well-deserved awards. The journey I have had at Peer Power has been wondrous so far, where I have got to exercise my voice and lived experience and gain a formal qualification (AQA) to support my professional development.
This has all built me into changing for the better and my doors have widened. From one of the collaborations that the charity had, the opportunity to cater at a street party was given to me. Due to the positive results, I was provided with another opportunity to coordinate and manage a Christmas event with this same company. These have led to much more, like attending events and doing speeches and receiving awards that made me very proud of my journey and the positive changes I have made for my future. But, most importantly, I have began to allow myself to speak more about how I am feeling and my past experiences with the right people to help myself out more. And this choice has been the most beneficial.
At Peer Power Youth, we celebrate the growth of Marce and the opportunities that have come from his work as a Young Partner. This underpins everything we stand for and we’re so proud of him for the progress that he’s made since joining our charity. As Marce expressed being a Young Partner ‘widens’ many doors, and we pride ourselves for providing them with a community and a platform to become the best version of themselves while always acknowledging their lived experience
If you would like to know more about how we work with young people like Marce or want to get involved with our charity, please reach out to fundraising@peerpower.org.uk
Peer Power Youth is a youth led charity working with young people aged 10–25 who have experienced trauma, including abuse, neglect, exclusion, and injustice. We are an empathy-driven organisation working to transform services by inspiring young people with lived experience to have a voice.
Since we began in 2016, Peer Power Youth has supported over 1,000 young people and 7,000 professionals, helping to embed youth voice at the heart of care services.
Our goal is to transform services so that they meet young people with empathy, equity, and care – not control. We want services to support children and young people early, to prevent harm from escalating.
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