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From: Jim Richardson, Chair of Hyped
Few of us own all of our life. Many of us commit at least 35 hours each week to our employer. Those of us who have partners share our lives with them. For those with small children neither day nor night remains their own.
All this is by choice. We choose to work: we choose to get married or live together. Only when we are deprived of the ownership of our lives against our will, do we complain.
Demoralised young people come to HYPED when the ownership of their lives is slipping from them. They may find themselves homeless: they may find their lives taken over by drugs or drink. Maybe, to their surprise, they have become pregnant or something has gone wrong with their sex life.
In our three Advice Centres spread across Christchurch, Ferndown and Bournemouth, young people find advice and encouragement about issues, which threaten to deprive them of the ownership of their lives. Only this year, we established “Junction 235” in Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth. Here advice is offered in complete confidence by medical and other professional personnel. There is free use of computers, with access to the internet. There’s always a cup of tea.
At the Junction, as at our other premises, we are grateful for the part played by our volunteer workers. The volunteer work-force across all of HYPED is ever growing and the support they give to our paid staff is invaluable.
We struggle to maintain these Centres which cost us each year £223,000 but they are successful in helping young people to own their own lives. Can you perhaps contribute a part of yours, in terms of time or even money, to help them achieve it?
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