The first time I encountered mountains youth services team was late 2018, where their drop-in service was operating thrice a week and provided a place of refuge for me after school. I, at 13 years old, attended frequently, and it was here that I formed relationships that were, and are still the foundation of my life. These formative years for me, that I am grateful for MYST to have been a part of, were tumultuous, yet MYSTs youth workers and councillors supported me through unprecedented hurdles such as homelessness, wrongful legal convictions and navigating living alone at 16.
Without the support and advocacy from past and present youth workers at the service many of my achievements would have been unattainable. my introduction to the service kickstarted a realisation for me, that adults can be empathetic and understanding towards me and I could, in fact, feel safe and comfortable around them for the first time.
This simple kindness changed everything for me, and with encouragement from the youth workers at the drop-in service, I gained the courage to self advocate. This step would be the one to change my life, my living situation and be a catalyst for developing self advocacy skills in work environments, interpersonal relationships and for the rest of my life.
At nearly 20, I still attribute so many of my experiences back to MYST, my life would be vastly different had MYST not been open to the community and hosted by talented youth workers who wanted to make a difference.