Celebrating Their Achievements

Across the South-East of England young people have completed our Get on Track Employability programmes with partners Sanctuary Supported Living. The exciting final session came in the shape of a celebration event where the young people chose an activity to enjoy with their athlete mentors who have guided them through the programme.

Residents from the Brighton foyer opted for an adrenaline filled afternoon of go kart racing in Lancing while both groups from the Essex centres chose a rage room activity which saw them ‘cause carnage in a controlled environment’.

Dame Kelly Holmes Trust Get on Track programmes provide young people with a Champion in their Corner: world-class athlete mentors who use their experiences from elite sport to help young people apply the knowledge to their own lives. Two-time British Boxing Champion, Hannah Beharry has been working with young people in Brighton, while Commonwealth Fencing gold medallist, Claire Bennett has been mentoring young people in centres in Essex.

Brighton programme helped young people change their outlook on life

The celebration event is a culmination of a 20-session programme where athlete mentors work with young people on their own personal development, improving confidence, self-esteem, resilience and employability prospects.

Tyler and Nathanial have been regulars working with Hannah throughout and have really seen the benefit of the programme.

Tyler said: “The programme really changed my perspective on life, and working with Hannah helped me to feel better mentally and physically about myself.”

When the programme started in October, Nathaniel was dealing with depression because of some personal issues which took place during the summer of 2024. That led to isolation and a lack of social interaction with other people.

Dame Kelly Holmes Trust programmes promote the intrinsic link between physical and mental wellbeing, and our athlete mentors encourage involvement in sport / movement. As part of the Brighton based sessions, Hannah utilised boxing as a way of getting young people more physically active, and Nathaniel found it beneficial. He said: “I really enjoyed those active boxing sessions with Hannah. Getting fitter and chatting to her about her sporting career was great.”

Over the course of the programme, Nathaniel grew in confidence and has started to look for employment. He shared his dream of moving to Thailand and is exploring options to do this. He is also considering joining the Army Cadets or Merchant Navy.

The Brighton group enjoying their celebration event.

Claire helped groups in Essex unlock untapped potential

The groups from Essex centres opted for another adrenaline filled celebration event activity in the shape of a Rage Room, where they got the chance to let out some pent-up anger in a fun and controlled environment.

Across both Sanctuary Supported Living groups in Essex, Claire has seen some tremendous growth in the young people – whether it’s been through increased confidence and self-esteem, young people using the programme to help them realise their future goals or increasing their physical activity levels.

Both groups had young mums on the programme, and as a Mum herself, Claire was able to share advice. One young parent said: "I have enjoyed Claire being supportive of everyone here. She's been able to support other Mums as she is a Mum herself, and I have enjoyed taking advice from her."

Claire encouraged the group to focus on identifying things they wanted to achieve and set themselves goals to work towards. During their final session, the group wrote commitment cards which Claire will post to them three months later to remind them of the progress they made on the programme.

Some of these commitments included putting themselves before others, keeping to a regular routine, staying positive, not giving up and having the courage to try new things.

Saphffire one of the residents, shared their story with us. They highlighted that although she has had to overcome many challenges in her life, Sanctuary Supported Living and Dame Kelly Holmes Trust have given a sense of community.

“I’ve been used to isolation for over a decade, so these sessions have given me huge emotional support,” said Saphffire. “When I came to the sessions, I got that sense of community and human affection and being reminded that there are people out there that you can talk to,” she continued.