From drugs and violence to homelessness and bullying, these six young people have all faced incredible adversity and daunting challenges.
But they have turned their lives around with determination and hard work, helping and inspiring others along the way.
Now they are the finalists for the the Prince’s Trust Achiever of the Year at the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards 2015.
The winner, chosen by a panel including Prince’s Trust ambassador Alesha Dixon and Mirror and ITV executives, will be honoured at the glittering ceremony hosted by Carol Vorderman at London’s Grosvenor House in the autumn and screened on ITV.
Pride of Britain, sponsored by Lidl, honours Britain’s unsung heroes.
Every year Prince Charles, the Prime Minister and dozens of Britain’s most iconic stars take part in the biggest national event of its kind.
Andy Gibbon: “Trust gave me help starting a business when my dream died…”
After leaving school at 16 with just a handful of GCSEs, sports-mad Andy Gibbon landed his dream job as an apprentice coach with Sheffield Wednesday.
But he was crushed when the club said it no longer needed him.
Andy, now 27, recalls: “I was devastated. I couldn’t face playing football after that and started drinking and partying.”
On one night out he was attacked at knifepoint and almost died. “I was hanging around with the wrong crowd,” he says. “I had a choice – do I carry on down the wrong road or go down the right road?”
Andy, of Sheffield, was accepted on The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, which helps set up youngsters in business.
He now runs a football coaching business, Star Strikers, and several pupils have been scouted by major clubs. He says: “Since getting in touch with the Trust I’ve never looked back. I’m so grateful.”
Carlie Hayward: “Exercise put spring back in my step – then Trust saw my potential”
Carlie Hayward was 12 when her life was turned upside down. Her father suffered a nervous breakdown and left the family and, struggling to cope, her mother also had a breakdown.
It was left to Carlie to step in to care for her younger siblings. “Mum gave up on living and hardly ever left her bedroom,” she recalls. “She only ate if I cooked. We felt abandoned. It was up to me to do everything.” On top of this, she was bullied at school.
Carlie, who lives in Chesterfield, says: “I was ridiculed for what felt like everything. My size, my hair, clothes, the way I spoke. I was so shy that that seemed to make things worse as people saw me as weak.”
At 14, she was forced to get a job working nights for a factory. And two years later, she took on a second job collecting glasses at weekends, often working until 5am.
Carlie recalls: “On a weekday, I’d go to school all day then work all night, often only getting an hour or two of sleep. It became almost impossible to function.”
By 18, she moved out of the family home. A year later she gave birth to twin boys, Logan and Ceelan, now nine.Battling depression and in an abusive relationship, Carlie hit rock bottom.
It was then her doctor suggested she try exercise to help with her depression. She says: “I noticed I had a spring in my step after the gym and I had a smile on my face for the first time in years.”
She realised her love of exercise could become a career and her Job Centre put her in touch with The Prince’s Trust. She took part in the Enterprise scheme and got a loan to set up Locee Fitness, giving personal training and life coaching.
As well as juggling her business and looking after her boys, she also finds time to volunteer in her local community.
She says: “I’m no longer afraid of my past and every moment of pain is worth it if I can help others.”
Duane Jackson: “I came out of jail and no one would help… Now I invest in other Prince’s Trust start-ups”
After a turbulent upbringing in care, and being expelled from school twice by 15, Duane hit rock-bottom when he was caught trying to smuggle thousands of ecstasy tablets into America.
Then 19, he ended up in a high security US jail facing a potential 25-year sentence.But after being sent back to Britain for trial, a judge gave him hope of rebuilding his life by sentencing him to five years.
In prison Duane, who had taught himself computer programming as a teenager, gave lessons in IT skills to other inmates. Upon his release, he tried to set up his own business.
“I was unemployed and had no qualifications – not a great situation to be in when you have a baby on the way,” Duane, now 36, says. “I felt like I went to a hundred banks but no one was willing to give me a loan when I had bad credit, no security and no experience. I grew up in the care system, so I didn’t have family to offer financial or moral support.”
But after hearing about the Prince’s Trust, he approached them and was granted a loan to start his own business, Kashflow, which provides accounting software for small businesses. Thanks to his hard work, the firm became a market leader.
But Duane never forgot his own struggles and employed some other ex-convicts, giving them a second chance too.
Last year, Duane, who has won various business awards and even received praise from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, sold his business and donated £100,000 to The Prince’s Trust.
“Now that I’m financially secure, I’ve been able to invest in other Prince’s Trust start-ups,” he says.
“It’s been great to be able to give something back and help out people who are in the same situation as I was not too long ago.”
Busliana Kashilembo: “The common language of football gave me a voice”
When he arrived in Hull at the age of 21, Busliana couldn’t speak a word of English.
He had fled the war-torn Congo with his family at the age of seven and spent 14 years as a refugee in Rwanda.
As a child, he would walk 24 miles to and from school, and faced relentless bullying.
Speaking of his early days in Britain, he recalls: “I never had friends and I felt depressed not being able to communicate.”
But then Busliana, known as Quej, joined a youth club in Hull and discovered the common language of football.
“Football wasn’t just a sport, I used it as a language to be able to communicate with people,” he says in almost perfect English – with a hint of a Hull accent. “I started making contact with people and making friends as well.”
There, he took part in The Prince’s Trust Get Started with Football programme, gaining a qualification in sports coaching.
While at college, he took part in a personal development programme run by the charity, despite difficulties at home. With the Trust’s support, Quej, 25, now works as a part-time support coach and youth worker for the Tigers Sport and Education Trust to help young people get involved in football.
He is also an ambassador for the trust, a motivational speaker and aspiring actor, having recently taken part in a project with the National Academy of Performing Arts
He says: “The Prince’s Trust gave me a foundation for the future and a chance. Before, I had nothing. Now I can focus on the positives in my life while inspiring other people. It’s been amazing.”
Samantha Lindley: “I felt despair and hit rock bottom but now I want a master’s degree”
Samantha was just 16 when she was forced to move out of the family home after becoming estranged from her parents.
Finding comfort in drink and drugs, she spiralled into depression. One Christmas, alone in a flat with no food, hot water or electricity, she hit rock bottom.
“I hated myself,” she says. “I didn’t believe I deserved happiness.”
In a bid to escape her problems, she turned to self-harm.
But she was given a lifeline when she heard about The Prince’s Trust, and enrolled on a personal development course.
Samantha, now 23, from Bury St Edmunds, says: “The confidence and self-esteem I gained was amazing.”
She has since graduated with a degree in English Literature and works as a charity fundraiser.
Samantha, who is now applying to do a masters degree, says: “The Prince’s Trust truly saved me.”
Casey Taylor: Teenage tearaway’s life has been turned around
As a teenager, Casey seemed destined to end up in jail. She struggled with a difficult home life, joined a gang and began drinking at 15.
She says: “I hated school and kind of authority. I didn’t like being told what to do. I’d walk out in the middle of lessons and cause trouble in my local area.
“It was a mixture of peer pressure and trying to blank stuff out.” By 17, Casey was taking drugs and was arrested for criminal damage.
Over the years, she racked up 13 convictions for various minor offences and, at one point, she was in court up to three times a week.
“I’d do things on the spur of the moment and not think about the consequences,” says Casey, who lives in Southampton.
But the turning point came when her probation officer introduced her to The Prince’s Trust. At 19 she signed up to the charity’s Fairbridge programme, a personal development course.
“I was on a downward spiral but they helped me to believe in myself. They saw beyond the front I put out and pushed me to do well.”
With the charity’s support, Casey was also diagnosed with ADHD and is now on medication.
“Getting the diagnosis has shown me there’s a reason why I was like I was. I wasn’t just a naughty child.”
Now 23, Casey has her dream job as an outdoor activity instructor, working with kids and vulnerable adults. She also volunteers her time as a football coach and with The Prince’s Trust.
“Life is completely different,” Casey says. “I want to help other young people at risk to see that there’s no need to get into trouble, that they can have a better life, like I now do.
“People can turn their lives around and become a positive member of society.”
For more information about Pride of Britain 2015 visit the special awards website HERE
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