Ross-on-Wye teenager, Alex Bates, has regained confidence in himself and his writing thanks to the work of the Supported Housing for Young People Project (SHYPP). One of the aspects he has particularly enjoyed is Media SHYPP.

During the past year, Alex has worked with the staff at SHYPP on a weekly basis and they have empowered him to produce articles and poems that allows him to explore his inner thoughts. Wendy Pickering, who is from Ross-on-Wye and now lives in Hereford, is Alex’s Locality Co-ordinator at SHYPP.

Wendy told the Ross Gazette: “SHYPP not only offers accommodation for homeless young people but a chance to become the best possible version of themselves they can be. We support them in many ways and adapt our approach to suit every individual young person’s needs. When a young person first arrives at SHYPP they can appear very overwhelmed and vulnerable.

“Each young person will be allocated a support worker who will assess the young person and provide them with individual support. This could  be financial or emotional, and quite often will present with mental health and attachment issues.

We work alongside each young person and help to provide life skills, healthy living and personal development.”

They offer in house free counselling and personal support to build confidence, social awareness and communication skills.

Alex told the Ross Gazette: “Every young person deserves the chance to have a happy and rewarding life. SHYPP works tirelessly to make this happen for all vulnerable and homeless young adults. From a young age, people struggle with being validated by others, but from no fault of our own, some of us don’t even get the chance to be heard, or even seen for that matter.

“We are overlooked and neglected and not allowed to reach our full potential, and I’m a victim of this. It’s a very common occurrence for young people in a negative environment to not receive the right support, nor the right nourishment, and yet not enough is being done to help this.

“From a personal standpoint, I’ve flourished in both creative topics and more educational ones, but still not received the chance to be public about them. Being from a background that has and still suffers with the likes of poverty, homelessness, rejection, and the many topics that are seen in a negative manner, my life has not been allowed to grow, I have not been given the chance that so many others have.

“It’s important to remember that just because of somebody’s background, gender, racial ethnicity, sexuality, or financial development, we should still give help when needed, but to more importantly, allow ourselves the help we need.”

Alex hopes to go on to university and eventually become a full-time writer. He wrote the following poem, he wished to share with a wider audience:

Don’t look back to a time of melancholy,

Instead let it rest as part of the past,

My soul was always crying for departure,

But now I know I have so much to do,

There is so little as seconds and minutes,

They come in sharp fleeting glances,

Although I might not perceive where I’m headed,

It never stopped me beforehand so I smile,

Because why cry over more spilt tears?

And why hold onto the allure of deception.See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here