Meet Baillee

Bailee joined Legacy Youth Zone in 2020 at aged 10, she was shrouded with anxiety and nervousness which built into low self-esteem and doubt. Bailee had a lot of support from Youth Workers and was assigned a mentor who have helped her overcome many obstacles to become a more confident and social person. Hear Bailee’s story below.

Before Attending Legacy

I’m quite a reserved person. I barely left my house and didn’t really get along with people in general, it was hard making friends. I didn’t like going out by myself because social media or watching tv I only heard about bad things happening.

The absence of not going out regularly and meeting up with people outside of my family, dropped my confidence levels and created this feeling of anxiety.

Looking back, I don’t think being on social media all the time helped me at all. It got to a point where I just felt miserable and couldn’t build up the energy to do anything.

It was my cousin that convinced me to join Legacy, she’d been a few times and kept talking about all the activities. I joined the Junior Club, and honestly it was quite overwhelming, and I just shied away from people. My family encouraged me to keep going when I wanted to give up.

It wasn’t until I went to the holiday club that I found things less intense, and I had more time to get to know the Youth Workers and they got to know me more.  I noticed a change in my mood, and I let my guards down and just had fun. It was nice taking part in the challenges and I got to know more and more people. I was just happy that I could notice the difference in myself. It made coming to the after-school Junior Club so much easier – things were great.

New challenges

But new challenges were coming my way, I finished my primary school and found the move to secondary school hard. Then at Legacy when I was 12 nearing 13, they started telling me about the Senior Club and that I’m nearing the age to start that. I shut down, I didn’t want to have another change, when things were going well for me here finally. I could feel the anxiety come back, and my low mood was returning, there was just so many things changing – at home, at school, and now at Legacy – and I just didn’t like it.

The Junior Club Manager Mikhail spoke to my mum about ‘Transition Monday’s’ where myself and other Juniors could trial the senior sessions and get a buddy. I tried it, and didn’t like it, but he kept encouraging me all the time and introduced me to the Youth Workers that are in the Senior Club.

I was also told about counselling sessions in the Health & Wellbeing room and there were people from Croydon Drop-In that I could talk to about my feelings. It was nice to have this especially during the summer holidays.

Legacy's Mentoring Programme

I was also introduced to the Mentoring Programme at Legacy; I didn’t know much about mentors then or what it would mean. I had to fill out a questionnaire about my likes and interests, and about what I wanted to do in future. They then matched me with a mentor called Charlotte. Charlotte’s been great as a mentor because she really got to know who I am, and I get to talk to her about what’s going on at school, and what challenges I face. She always comes out with good solutions but gets me thinking about how I can make positive changes in my life.

After a lot of reluctance from me, and after doing Transition Monday’s and taking part in activities with Charlotte’s support I now attend Senior sessions – and I like it. I’ve gained the ability to try new things and not to close myself off from others. Taking part in group activities is still quite hard for me but I sit in the room and observe and then take part when I’m settled.

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Since being appointed as Bailee mentor, we have built up a good relationship and are now surer of oneself when part taking in activities around the youth zone. Bailee has shown her level-headed behaviour when talking to her peers which is wonderful to see.

Charlotte, Bailee's Mentor at Legacy

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What does being a member at Legacy mean to you?

Becoming a member at Legacy has helped me build a solid foundation, in terms of having a better understanding of how to deal with my anxiety. This comes in many forms; I now have a mentor that I see every Monday, she helps me untangle my thoughts and offers tips on what to do if I have a breakdown.

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I’m really proud to see Bailee has come such a long way in her development. She was at times very stubborn and very withdrawn and didn’t get involved in a lot of things. With lots of encouragement and engagement with Youth Workers, we’ve seen Bailee flourish and actively get involved in activities with other members in a real positive way.

Mikhail, Legacy Junior & Holiday Club Manager

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