Meet Rochana…

Dear Roomsponsor,

I hope you’re doing ok during this strange time.

My name’s Rochana. I’m 22 years old and I’ve been living at YMCA for about two years. I’ve been offered so many great opportunities at YMCA, so I wanted to share my story with you and tell you how much your support means.

When I was little, my parents weren’t able to look after me. They had issues with alcohol and drug use and had quite a lot to deal with themselves. From the age of four I lived with my grandma and I had a good relationship with her. She was always there for me. But when I was about 15 she became unwell and wasn’t getting better. One day I got home from school and my grandma’s friend was there. They’d had to call an ambulance and at hospital they discovered she had terminal cancer.

I was in complete shock and disbelief. I just wanted it to be anything but cancer. I also didn’t know what I was going to do, my grandma had always looked after me and there wasn’t anyone else I could turn to. It was one of the hardest days of my life.

With nowhere to go, I was taken into care. It was really hard being away from my grandma, not knowing if she was ok in hospital. It was also really difficult adjusting to being in care, while also travelling for hospital visits and trying to keep up with school and my work experience placement.

Not long after, my grandma passed away. I couldn’t believe she was actually gone, she had looked after me all my life.

During that time, I moved around a few different foster homes but eventually I found a long term foster placement. I lived there for 3 years, and I finally felt settled. But when I had just turned 18, my foster carer had to move to a smaller house and unfortunately didn’t have room for me.

At the age of 18, I had no option of joining another foster home. I had to turn to supported accommodation through the council, but it was very difficult because I had trouble keeping on top of things and I was always worried about not being able to pay my rent. I didn’t have any experience living by myself and I found it really hard. Eventually, because of issues with rent, I had to leave my place with the council. I had nowhere to go and I was so scared that I would have to sleep on the street. Luckily, I found YMCA and they gave me a safe place to stay.

Things were different at YMCA; it was strange at first but people there were so lovely I didn’t feel alone anymore. There’s always someone I can talk to and it’s made such a difference just knowing there’s someone there for me. I’ve not had that since my grandma passed away. My keyworker has been with me since the beginning and I feel like I can really trust her. She’s supported me with so many things from budgeting and careers advice, to just being there to talk to. For the first time ever, I felt hopeful for the future.

It was at YMCA that I found my passion for photography. I was given the opportunity to practice my skills at a YMCA event, and I got lots of great feedback. It was then that I realised that maybe I was good at this.

I’m trying to work towards my ambitions now and I even entered my photos in a competition and I’m so excited to tell you that I won. My keyworker has been helping me find courses to start my path to a photography career and it feels like things are really starting to look up for me now. I know what I want to do for a job now and I’m excited to learn more about it.

When I think back to when I first moved to YMCA, I think I’ve changed a lot. I feel like my confidence has really grown and I now do things I never would have thought of doing before, like my photography, and writing to you!

If I hadn’t found YMCA, I wouldn’t have discovered my love for photography, or made any of the friends I have here. I’d always struggled to make friends before and I’m really grateful for the people I have around me now.

I’m also thankful for your support, I really appreciate all that you do for us. Knowing there are people like you behind us every step of the way means a lot. I just want to say thank you so much.

Kind regards,

Rochana