I set up a youth club for autistic teenagers in 2015. I surprised myself with how nervous I was about it all. At first I didn’t know where to put myself, but I learned so much from the young people and their families – and then my own son was diagnosed with autism. It was incredibly fortunate that I had already learned so much. When your child gets a diagnosis, they say you need to ‘find your tribe’ – and I’m so grateful that I had already built my tribe through volunteering.
Faye – volunteering built my tribe
There was one particular girl I worked with, who I could tell was a bit lost at home. She came from a very large family with a lot of things going on. She made a couple of comments that were racist, I thought maybe she was repeating stuff she’d heard at home. We didn’t call her out, instead we explored the comments and gently discussed where they had come from and what she thought they meant. Later, she came in and mentioned a racist comment one of her parents had made while they were watching a football match on telly, and she said that she challenged it and told them that it wasn’t ok. She was really proud of herself and has started getting really interested in diversity – next thing she was researching the Pride flag and asking if we could add it to the mural we were working on. I was so delighted to see how this interest in diversity was awoken in her.
Youth groups in towns and villages around Ireland need local volunteers who can help rebuild our safe and secure spaces for young people. People like Faye, people like you.